Unexpected
by Super-sonic Iblish
Summary: Knuckles and Ruby are happily married. Now they want to have a baby, but Ruby is unable to have children. However, although Ruby is unable to get pregnant, there is someone else who is, somehow, able. Warning: hetero mpreg and OC/cannon coupling
1. Chapter 1

_Wow, another new story! I'm just full of new ideas today! This one chapter was inspired, a bit, by my aunt's wedding. The rest of the story I thought up myself. Oh, and another thing: Sonic and co belong to Sega._

_Warning: it's rated T, or maybe, if I have to change it later, M, because of some intense sexual scenes, some possible swearing, and, duh, the fact that there's HETERO, not homo, mpreg. _

_I just luv mpreg... I only dislike gay couplings. So, if you don't like mpreg, then don't read._

* * *

**Unexpected**

_Marriage… it's a complicated thing, and one of the most important things in a person's life. It's not all that it's cracked up to be, there's a lot of planning and other things to do that don't seem as hard as they really are. And then there's the small fear a man always feels the day of the wedding. The fear of whether I'm ready for this, if I've made the right choice, if I'm prepared for what's to come. Forget what people say about weddings being amazing… take it from someone who's been married, they're not fun! Don't get me wrong, I love my wife more than anything, but I'm just glad it's over!_

_My name is Knuckles the echidna. I'm 22 years old, I'm a virgin, as far as you know, and I've just been married to the girl of my dreams. This is the story about how our life turned upside down, with just one little unexpected event._

Knuckles the echidna and Ruby the hedge-echidna were sitting at their table during the after party, their closest friends sitting with them. They consisted of Sonic the hedgehog, Amy Rose the hedgehog, Tails the fox, Cream the rabbit, Shadow the hedgehog, Rouge the bat, Silver the hedgehog, and Blaze the cat. It was a considerably small wedding, since neither of them had any real family, so it was mostly their closest friends, and a couple of others they knew, who didn't stay for the after party. So now it was just the 10 of them, enjoying a meal as friends and chatting about what they're doing with their lives. It was the picture-perfect wedding, in the bride and groom's eyes. Amy and Cream did most of the decorating, for both the church during the wedding and Sonic's home for after the wedding. The after party was held at Sonic's house was because being a hero for as long as he was, he became quite famous, and he had a bit of money. His house was nearly a mansion; it was huge, which was good for such a hyperactive speedster.

Sonic chuckled in his throat, and began to clank his spoon onto his glass, signaling he wanted them to kiss. Everyone else joined in, clanking their own glasses and cheering him to go ahead. Knuckles shook his head, smiling, before he turned to Ruby and they quickly kissed.

"Happy now?" he asked Sonic, elbowing him. Sonic put down his spoon.

"Yes, very," he snarkily replied, and he took another bite of his food.

"That was a very lovely reception Mr. and Mrs. Knuckles," Cream said kindly.

"Thank you Cream, but you helped a lot," Ruby replied, smiling. "I couldn't have planned it better myself."

"You're welcome!" Cream said happily.

"So, what're you planning to do now that you're married?" Blaze asked them.

"We're not really sure yet," Knuckles replied. "We haven't planned much past the honeymoon yet."

"Speaking of which, you never told us where you're going yet!" Amy said.

"Is it somewhere far away, like Cancun or Italy?" Silver asked.

"Actually, we're going to a small island off the coast of Rio. A friend of mine owns a private cabin on the island, and he's letting us stay there for the week," Knuckles replied.

"We've planned lots of stuff to do there," Ruby added.

"Lots of stuff, hmmm?" Sonic said, eyeing Knuckles deviously. It took Knuckles a moment to realize what Sonic was getting at, but then he grimaced and spoke angrily.

"Sonic, don't you dare even talk about that!" he said, kicking him in the leg.

"What? Now that you're married, you're free to be sexually active!" Sonic replied as if he said nothing wrong, which brought Sonic and Knuckles into another heated argument. All the while, Ruby just sat there, a bit annoyed by Sonic ruining the evening… again… but also a bit embarrassed, as she looked over at Amy with blush on her cheeks. Amy rolled her eyes and shouted over the sound.

"GUYS!" she called, and the room grew silent. "Just shut up! You're ruining the evening!" she said. Sonic sat back up straight and pulled his ears down in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything," he said. It was silent for the rest of the meal, until Sonic spoke once everyone was done.

"C'mon now, I didn't rent a DJ system so we could all just sit around! Let's dance!" Sonic said, standing up.

The rest of the evening consisted of dancing to familiar songs from when they were younger teenagers and talking. Knuckles and Ruby danced together to a song they had picked out, like all couples did on their wedding, and the groom's men and bridesmaids put together a dance as well. They ended up dancing to the song "Shots" while carrying shot glasses. It was actually kind of funny! But, before they knew it, the night was nearly over, and people started leaving. Last to leave, besides Sonic, who lived there, were the bride and groom. Sonic bent down to pick up a chair that'd been knocked over by accident, and spoke to the newlyweds.

"So, married… how does it really feel?" Sonic asked them.

"Kind of hard to believe," Ruby replied.

"Why? Hard to believe you married a hunk like me?" Knuckles joked. Ruby laughed slightly and replied.

"Well, yes, but… It's hard to believe we're married already. It feels like only a little while ago we were kids, fighting crime and being nothing more than 'just friends,'" Ruby said.

"Yeah, time sure flies," Sonic mused, as he began to move the furniture back where they used to be, before he cleared them away for the dance. "So, you guys still going to come and visit us bachelors?" Sonic asked in a joking manor.

"Of course! We'll never forget about you guys!" Ruby replied.

"Well, I know someone I could try and forget," Knuckles joked.

"Ha ha, you're hilarious!" Sonic said, slapping Knuckles on the back. "C'mon, there's no way you could forget Shadow!" Sonic said, who received a look from Knuckles. "What?" Knuckles and Ruby exchanged looks, then Knuckles spoke again.

"Nothing. Hey, I think we're gonna split now Sonic. We need to get a bit of rest if we're going to be flying all the way to Rio tomorrow," he said, looping and arm around Ruby's waist.

"Ok, see you two in a week!" Sonic said, and he hugged them both.

"Goodbye Sonic," Ruby said while she hugged him. The two of them headed out the door, and Sonic followed to the door.

"Bye bye you two crazy lovebirds!" Sonic called to them, waving, as they walked down the driveway and to their car, the one with the "just married" sign taped to the back of the car.

_But that was just the beginning. Things were about to take a turn for the scary, once we got to Rio._


	2. Chapter 2

Just a cute little chapter before the serious stuff happens. It's so adorable! :)

* * *

Knuckles was awaken from his nap by a hard turbulence in the airplane. He looked out the window and saw the fluffy, white clouds, illuminated by the light of the moon, roll past them.

"Good evening passengers. We will be landing in approxamently 15 minutes, please strap in and prepare for descent. Have a great day and thank you for choosing Mobius Airways," an announcer said on the speaker. Knuckles looked to his side, and found Ruby nuzzled up against his shoulder, fast asleep. Knuckles smiled, and stroked her head gently. She stirred in her sleep and moaned slightly, but didn't wake up. Knuckles put a hand on her shoulder and gently shook her, whispering her name. Now Ruby did wake up, and she looked up at him.

"We're going to be landing soon," he whispered to her. Ruby smiled and snuggled against his shoulder again, before she sat up straight and stretched.

The plane landed in the port at Rio around 3:30 AM, and the two of them hailed a taxi and headed towards the ocean bay, where his friend would be waiting with his boat to take them out there. But not before driving through the city of Rio. Even though it was very early in the morning, people swamped the streets. There were street performers out, kiosks selling homemade items, and people playing music and dancing in the streets. It was very beautiful and enchanting, and they had to stop at some point to enjoy what Rio had to offer.

After a few hours, they caught a different cab that drove them to the seashore. That's where they met Knuckles' old friend. She was a hawk named Ember. From there, they took a boat out to the island, called Ember Isle, named after its owner. The island was beautiful; it wasn't very big, you could easily see across one side of the land to the other, but it was covered in tropical palm trees and other exotic plants. There, close to the shore, was a large cabin, the pathway to it lit with tiki torches. The entire cabin was made out of bamboo and light brown wood, and it was decorated to feel like a Hawaiian cottage. Ruby made a huge smile and turned to Ember.

"Oh my gosh, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed, "Thank you so much Ember!" she said, hugging the hawk.

"No problem. You two deserve this, and more!" Ember said, smiling at the both of them.

Ember dropped them off at the shore, after giving them her phone number, so she could pick them up when their trip is over, and giving them one last hug. Knuckles and Ruby walked down the white, sandy beach, hand-in-hand, towards the cabin.

The cabin had huge windows in the front, that basically made up the entire wall, made to let in the light they needed. The hose didn't have electricity, so at night they'd need candles, and sunlight was their source of light in the daytime. When they entered the cabin, they found it completely lit with pretty smelling candles and the floor was littered with rose petals.

"Oh man, Ember went overboard… I knew she would," Knuckles mused, as he looked around at the tropical cabin décor.

"It's amazing! I wish we could live here!" Ruby exclaimed, and she twirled in a circle in the middle of the room. Knuckles came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close. He kissed her neck and whispered in her ear.

"We should probably get some sleep. It's 6:30," he said. At just the mention of the time, Ruby yawned and walked away from Knuckles' grip.

"You're right, I'm beat!" she replied, yawning again.

The two of them found the master bedroom, and was immediately stunned. It was so beautiful! There was a skylight in the center of the roof, letting in the last bit of moonlight of the evening. The bed was huge; it took up half of the room. It was draped with satin around the bed corners, attached to the ceiling, making a canopy for them around the bed. Knuckles and Ruby smiled at each other.

"It's so beautiful!" Ruby mused, and she walked over to the bed and touched it. It felt so soft, like she was touching a cloud. Knuckles yawned and walked by Ruby, and sat on the edge of the bed.

That first night, they slept soundlessly, after having a very crazy night. They ended up sleeping in until 12:30 in the afternoon… but it didn't matter. It's not like they had anywhere to be.

Knuckles awoke first, and looked at Ruby sleeping next to him. He smiled and leaned down to kiss her forehead softly, before he got out of bed. Shortly after, Ruby awoke, to the smell of something delicious. She slowly got up, realizing her back hurt a little bit from sleeping upright on that plane, and cracked her back. Then she got out of bed and put on her bathrobe on over her pajamas, before she walked into the kitchen.

Ruby was greeted by the bright sunlight pouring into the house, and the sweet smell of something cooking, and she could feel her mouth watering.

"Morning!" Knuckles said, catching Ruby's attention. Knuckles smiled at Ruby as she walked up to him, and she hugged him from behind.

"Whatcha cooking?" Ruby groggily asked.

"I don't really know. Something called _Farofa_," Knuckles said, reading the recipe. "I found a whole stack of Brazilian recipes, and I just wanted to try this one out," he said. Ruby took the recipe from him and read it.

"Toasted flour of manioc, served with rice and beans?" she read. "Hmm… never heard of it before," she said, setting down the card.

"I thought, 'heck, why not try some of these out?' This is a common lunch item, and its around lunch time, I guess," Knuckles said.

"Here, why don't you let me finish it?" Ruby asked.

"No no, I want to do it. You can go and relax," Knuckles insisted. Ruby smiled at him and kissed his lips, before she turned and sat down at the table.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Ruby asked him as he cooked.

"I heard there's a small waterfall on this island, if you want to go check that out?" Knuckles offered.

"That sounds like fun!" Ruby said. "I can't wait!"

Over the course of the rest of that day, Knuckles and Ruby found the waterfall he'd talked about, and they went swimming in it for awhile. They even found a thick tree branch that they could swing into the waterfall with. Then, on the way back, they found a small group of macaws all sitting together on a thick tree trunk. The two of them were able to come right up to them, and Ruby even gently stroked one of the bird's soft, feathery backs, before it squawked and flew away. However, they did get a lot of pictures of them. Then they headed back and did some stuff around the home, until around 7 o'clock, when Ruby made themselves some dinner.

"I love you," Ruby said that night, before they went to sleep.

"I love you too," Knuckles said, and he kissed her goodnight, as the moonlight shone over their bed, while they slumbered.


	3. Chapter 3

The next evening, Knuckles and Ruby were watching the sunset when Knuckles got a call from Ember. He put his cell phone on speaker so both of them could hear.

"Hey guys, just checking up on how you're doing," Ember said.

"We're doing fine. It's amazing up here!" Ruby replied.

"You really outdid yourself with this cabin!" Knuckles added. "It's so exotic."

"Thank you. So, I take it you two have been having some fun!" Ember said.

"Yes, lots," Ruby replied. "We've already discovered a waterfall, found a flock of macaws, and went swimming in the ocean!"

"Yes, well, let's try not to have too much _fun_ now. This island can be quite mysterious in its own ways. Wouldn't want certain, _unfortunate things_ to happen," Ember said suspiciously.

"Ember, stay out of our business," Knuckles flat-out stated. He could hear her laughing on the other line, as Ember couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm just joking guys," she said between a giggle. "Hey, I've gotta go, but you two enjoy yourselves," she said. "I'll be there in 4 days to pick you up, so be ready, ok?"

"Ok, see you Ember!" Knuckles said.

"Bye!" Ruby added, before Knuckles hung up and sighed. Knuckles put his cell back into his pocket and put a hand to his face. Ruby thought he looked distressed.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

"It's nothing… What's with everyone thinking we're immediately going to have sex since we're married?" Knuckles rhetorically asked. Ruby took Knuckles' hand and rubbed it gently.

"Some people just don't know their boundaries," Ruby replied, giggling slightly, and she curled up on the couch next to him. "I think you should stop worrying about others," Ruby added, hugging him. Knuckles smiled and rubbed her back softly as they watched the sun set. Once it was dark, they lit the night candles and just sat on the couch, not even really talking, just kissing and snuggling.

It was beginning to get later into the night, and Knuckles awoke on the couch, in the middle of the night, with Ruby sleeping on his shoulder. Knuckles strained his eyes in the dark, since the candles had long-since burned out, and looked at Ruby longingly. She looked so cute when she was asleep.

He didn't want to wake her, so he lifted her, bridal style, in his arms and carried her to bed. Knuckles laid her in bed and took off her shoes, careful not to wake her, and lied down next to her. She smiled in her sleep and cuddled her face against her pillow, making Knuckles huff in amusement, before he kissed her forehead, then snuggled up next to her and closed his eyes. However, his mind was still going. He thought about what everyone had said to them.

"_I-I mean... we are free to try 'it' now... we're married_," he thought. "_But why does it feel so wrong? What if she doesn't want to? She hasn't shown any real interest in it._" Knuckles looked at Ruby, continuing his thoughts. "_I could never force her to do something she doesn't want. But yet... __I__ want it so bad."_

* * *

The next morning, the two of them woke up and had breakfast, then immediately headed out to catch some waves. Neither of them really knew how to surf very well, but hey, they might as well try it. They didn't do so well, which wasn't a surprise to them, but they still enjoyed it.

After the surfing, they went snorkeling for a few hours. As they swam on the surface, looking down at the coral reefs and fish swimming by, Ruby found something that caught her interest. Lying in the middle of a bank of seaweed was an open clam, with a beautiful, purple colored pearl inside it. Ruby dove down and grabbed the clam, and swam back up, shooting the water from her snorkel. She took her goggles off and took the pearl out of the clam's mouth. Once she took it out, the clam slowly closed, to Ruby's surprise. She threw the clam away and looked at the large pearl in her hands.

"This is beautiful!" she said to herself. It was the size of a larger marble, and it was completely smooth and shiny, with no dull areas. The color was strange too; she knew of white pearls, but purple pearls were naturally very rare. It was as if it was begging for her to take it.

"_I can give this to Knuckles!"_ she thought excitedly. _"Oh, it will go so perfectly with his eyes!"_ Ruby held the pearl in the palm of her hand and swam back to shore, to stash it somewhere where Knuckles wouldn't find it.

That evening, Knuckles came back inside after checking the island for produce to eat, to find Ruby was waiting for him. She wrapped her arms around him in a soft hug and spoke.

"I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise? What kind of surprise?" he asked in return. Ruby let go of him quickly.

"Ok, shut your eyes," she said. Knuckles huffed in amusement, giving her a look, then he closed his eyes. He could hear Ruby walking off for a moment, and he could hear shuffling.

"Don't open them yet!" Ruby said, her voice calling from a distance. Knuckles made a fake impatient face and folded his arms over his chest.

"Ok, open up!" Ruby said. Knuckles opened his eyes to see her holding a braided hemp necklace with a purple pearl attached to the end as a charm.

"Wow Ruby, did you make this?" Knuckles asked, and he took the necklace in one hand and felt at the lovely braid work.

"Yeah, I did," she replied, smiling.

"And this pearl… where did you find it?" Knuckles asked.

"I found it today in the coral reefs out there," Ruby replied. "Do you like it?"

"I love it, it's beautiful," Knuckles said, kissing her cheek. He put the necklace around his neck and looked up at her, smiling.

"It brings out your beautiful eyes," Ruby said. Knuckles smiled bigger and wrapped his arms around her. They laid down together on the couch and began making out. This lasted for several sexy moments.

"_Don't forget to let her breathe,"_ his mind told him, and Knuckles stopped for a moment, as they both began to pant, not knowing that he was also holding his breath. He happened to be on the top, so he just stared down at her as she recollected her breath, and he smiled ever-so-slightly. He knew he had to ask her. He couldn't keep it hidden.

"Hey, Ruby?" he asked, still slightly out of breath.

"Yes?" she asked, equally out of breath. Knuckles' cheeks began to blush a light pink.

"I-I don't really know how to put this, but… do you..?" he paused, "Do you w-want to, you know… uh-,"

"Make love?" Ruby finished for him. Now Knuckles' cheeks burned, and he meekly nodded.

"Yeah… that," he said. Ruby looked a bit scared just then, which worried Knuckles. "I can understand if you say no," Knuckles continued, trying to ease the awkwardness. "I do realize, it's really soon… you can say no if you want, but-,"

He was about to continue, but Ruby kissed him, her arms wrapped around his neck, and Knuckles let out a small "mph," before he was interrupted. When Ruby finished the kiss, she remained inches from his face and whispered.

"What do _you_ want?"

"I just want you to be happy," Knuckles replied. "We don't have to… make a baby… not yet anyway. But I just want to know what it's like," he said. "If you want to," he added. Ruby's arms were still wrapped around his neck, and she kissed him again, then she spoke.

"Then I say, let's go for it," she said, smiling. "But no condoms or birth control." She kissed him again, but Knuckles spoke, breaking the kiss short this time.

"Are you sure? What will the others think?" he asked her.

"I don't care what they think anymore," Ruby replied. "I only care about you." Knuckles smiled and sat up, letting Ruby up. Ruby sat up too and shook her head, her hair going everywhere. Knuckles huffed and put a hand to her cheek, brushing a strand of her hair away from her eyes, then he kissed her back. As they kissed, he brought her onto his lap, and when he finished, he suddenly stood up, carrying Ruby in his arms, bridal style, catching Ruby by surprise. Ruby let out a small shriek, then started laughing, as Knuckles lifted her. She smiled at him, and put her forehead against his, their noses touching. Knuckles brought her towards the master bedroom.

"I can walk just fine," Ruby said, still laughing.

"I know," Knuckles replied, smiling, and he brought her into the bedroom. He sat her down on the bed and sat next to her. He stared forwards at nothing for a moment, before he turned to his wife and smiled.

"You ready?" she asked him.

"I guess. Are you?" he replied. In response, Ruby said noting, but she kicked off her shoes and took off her shirt, leaving her tank top on… for now.

* * *

"_My god, she's so amazing! I've never loved anyone or anything this much in my life! Oh man, and can she move! It feels so… good! I hope she's enjoying herself as much as I am."_

It was halfway through the night. Knuckles was on the bottom this time, and Ruby was on the top. She was beginning to grow tired though, and so was he. Ruby kissed her mate's neck, and he nipped playfully at her ear, causing her to giggle. But then she yawned, which caused Knuckles to yawn too. Yet they still continued. Ruby moaned in pleasure, as Knuckles ran a hand along her thigh. She laid her head on his chest, taking in his sweet, familiar smell, and sighed.

"I love you," she said quietly. Knuckles stroked her forehead and smiled.

"Yeah I love you too," he replied. Ruby began to fall asleep on top of him, so Knuckles turned to his side, gently lowering her to the mattress. Once she was on the bed, Ruby snuggled her face into the pillow, making Knuckles huff humorously. He stroked her ruby-red bangs and pulled them away, to kiss her forehead, before he too went to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Well, the last chapter was intense! Don't worry, it won't get too bad for a little while.

* * *

Two more nights in the four days they had left consisted of lovemaking, before Ember came to pick them up and bring them back to the mainland. The two of them caught a plane that evening back home. Although this one was a bit harder to fall asleep on for some reason, so they both stayed up throughout the night.

The moment they stepped off the plane and walked into the airport, they were bombarded with hugs by Sonic, Tails, and Amy, who were waiting for them when they got off the airplane.

"It's so great to see you again!" Sonic said, hugging both of them at once.

"He's just too embarrassed to admit that he really missed you guys," Amy said, causing Sonic to blush.

"I missed you, y'know, as friends do!" Sonic clarified.

"So, did you guys enjoy your trip?" Amy asked them.

"Oh yes, very much!" Ruby said. "It was so beautiful! We have pictures of the island and what we did, just wait until you see them!"

"Did you see anything cool?" Tails asked.

"Yeah, we saw a flock of macaws, we went snorkeling and saw lots of exotic fish, we found a waterfall that was practically in our backyard," Knuckles replied.

"Sounds like you two had a lot of fun!" Amy said. Sonic kept his mouth shut this time, although the first thing he thought was, "_Yeah, __lots__ of fun!" _and he smiled.

* * *

After an hour drive back home, and a few hours of showing all their friends their pictures and telling them about what they did, Knuckles and Ruby were ready for a good night's sleep… at 6:30 at night. Immediately after they got home, they dumped their baggage and went to bed, completely exhausted. They continued to sleep in, until before they knew it, it was 10:30 AM the next day.

Ruby woke up first, unable to sleep, her mind preoccupied. She looked at her husband, asleep next to him, and smiled. Then she got up and went into her suitcase, pulling out a plastic shopping bag as silently as possible. She looked back at Knuckles; he turned in his sleep, and she saw he was still wearing his necklace, and she smiled. Then she turned back to the bag. Inside the bag was a box of pregnancy testers that she'd bought at the airport. She headed into the bathroom and performed the test. Now all she had to do was wait for the results. After a few moments, she got the results. It came up negative, and Ruby sighed a breath or relief. Truthfully, she was a little scared. She wasn't sure if she was ready to have a baby… but that night, it felt so good, so right! But it was relieving to know that she wasn't pregnant.

Ruby left the bathroom and headed back to bed, snuggling against Knuckles. He shifted in bed and rolled around again to face her, his eyes opening a crack.

"Mmmh… hey, where've you been?" he mumbled groggily.

"Just in the bathroom," Ruby replied, smiling at him. Knuckles made a small half-smile and nuzzled his nose against hers. Ruby giggled slightly at the gesture, then kissed his nose and sat up.

"I'm not really very tired anymore," she said.

"I am," Knuckles replied. "But you can get up if you want." Ruby kissed his cheek.

"Ok, I'll make some breakfast," she said, and she got out of bed.

It was several days later, that evening, when Ruby noticed something wrong. She was overdue for her period, which worried her. She'd forgotten to take another pregnancy test since the first time, and while she was in the bathroom, she performed one more pregnancy test. This time, when she got the results back, she was shocked and she dropped the tester. She looked at herself in the mirror for a moment, beginning to breathe heavily, before she ran out of the bathroom, leaving the pregnancy tester that read "positive" on the floor where she'd dropped it.

"And you're sure it said positive?" Knuckles asked her, as Ruby led her back to the bathroom.

"I'm sure, I wouldn't lie about this," Ruby said, and she knelt down and picked up the pregnancy tester. Sure enough, it still said positive on it. Knuckles put a hand to his head and mumbled, "Aw geez," and he bit his lip. This was exactly what he didn't want to have happen. They'd just gotten married no more than a week ago, and now they were going to have a new addition to the family! Then, Knuckles heard that Ruby was crying, and he came up to her and hugged her from behind.

"I'm sorry Ruby," he said comfortingly. "I realize this isn't what you wanted." Ruby turned around and hugged him back, and spoke.

"No Knuckles, I do want a baby… but… I just don't think I'm ready right now," she cried, and she rested her face in his chest.

"It's too late for talk like that," Knuckles said quieter, and he placed a hand under her chin and lifted her head up to look at him. "Now I know you're scared," Knuckles said, "But don't worry, I'll help you through this. So will everyone else… as long as you feel comfortable telling them." Ruby sniffled and kissed Knuckles' lips gently.

"Thank you," she said, her voice still quavering. "I know you'll help me. Later today, we can tell the others," she said. Knuckles smiled at her, and placed a hand on her stomach. Ruby looked up at him and smiled, wiping her eyes, then they kissed again.

* * *

"You're what?" Amy exclaimed. Ruby had all the girls gathered at her house, to tell them the news. When she told them, Amy, Rouge, and Cream looked very surprised… and she couldn't blame them.

"You just got married a week ago!" Rouge said. Ruby put her head down.

"I know, I know," she said quietly. "It just sort of happened."

"Man, who would've guessed that Knuckles would be that impulsive," Amy thought out loud.

"No no, it wasn't his fault. He actually asked me if I wanted to… I agreed," Ruby said, "So it's my fault, it was my choice!"

"It was my fault really," Knuckles said to the guys, who were a bit less stunned and a little more proud of him. Sonic, Shadow, Silver, and Tails were being a bit too forgiving. "…I pressured her to do it, and now I feel so awful," Knuckles continued.

"Naw man, we understand," Sonic replied. "It's hard to control those urges. You did good in asking her pal!" Knuckles blushed slightly, not exactly feeling the same way.

"But are you two ready for a child already?" Shadow asked him.

"But are you two ready for a child already?" Cream asked Ruby. Ruby sighed and put a hand to her stomach.

"I think we can actually do this," she said. "He told me he'd be with me every step of the way, and I trust him." The girls let out a couple of "Aaws."

"I hope we're ready for a child… it's not like we have a say in the matter anymore," Knuckles replied, looking the guys dead in the eyes. Nobody had anything to say for a moment.

"C'mon Knuckles, don't be so down! I'm sure you two are going to raise a great child!" Silver said to try and cheer him up.

"Yeah, we'll help you guys too!" Sonic said, wrapping an arm around Knuckles' shoulder.

"Thanks guys. You're the greatest," Knuckles replied. The guys began to disperse and talk to other people, when Tails came up to Knuckles.

"If you want Knuckles, I can be Ruby's doctor," Tails offered. "I'm starting to get into medical science a lot, since Sonic here seems to keep getting injured every ten seconds!" Tails added, giving Sonic a dirty look. Sonic shrugged.

"I can't help it, I jump head first into danger!" he said. Knuckles huffed slight and spoke to Tails.

"Sure, I bet Ruby would feel so much more comfortable around you anyways," he replied. "Thank you."

* * *

Later that evening, Knuckles and Ruby were watching TV when Knuckles brought up what Tails had said.

"Ruby, when I was talking to the guys, Tails offered to be your doctor for the pregnancy," Knuckles said to her. "I told him yes, but what do you think?"

"And he doesn't mind being a maternity doctor?" Ruby asked him. Tails just seemed too young and innocent, she didn't want him to feel forced to do it and scar him for life.

"No, he actually seemed excited to be your doctor. He told me he's really gotten into medical science recently," Knuckles replied.

"Well, as long as he's ok with it, I don't mind. It'd actually be nice to have someone I know as my doctor," Ruby said.

"That's what I told him," Knuckles said. He relaxed back on the couch and looked at the TV. Ruby did the same, and she cuddled up against him. Knuckles' eyes trailed over to her and he smiled.


	5. Chapter 5

_This one's a short chapter, but it covers a lot of the plot, so don't skim read over this one. Wow, this chapter was tough! It's hard to go deep into the mind of an infertile woman! *awkward* I actually go emotional!_

* * *

It was nearly 4 weeks since Ruby found out she was pregnant. However, her belly had barely begun to grow, which concerned her and Knuckles. But one morning, when she woke up with pains in her abdomen, that's when they headed to Tails' house to ask him what may be going on. Tails brought them into his large garage, which had his X-Tornado and other mechanical stuff in it for when he's building, and lots of doctor equipment in it, for when he's playing doctor. It looked like a mixture between an auto repair shop and a doctor's office, split right down the center. Tails sat Ruby down on a table in the doctor's office half of his garage, and he brought over a portable ultraviolet _scanner._

"Where'd you get that from?" Knuckles asked him.

"I built it," Tails replied. Knuckles shook his head and went over to sit next to Ruby, who was pulling up her shirt, while Tails squirted the cold petroleum jelly on Ruby's abdomen. Tails brought out the scanner and wiped it off with an antibacterial wipe, before he placed it on her abdomen and rolled it around on top of the jelly.

"Alright, let's see what we've got here," Tails murmured, and he looked up at the screen, while he adjusted the scanner, looking for the fetus.

"It may take a moment to find it; the fetus would still be very small at this point," Tails said as he looked for it. Ruby looked up at Knuckles and held his hand. Knuckles didn't feel the greatest, and he swallowed slightly and moaned. Tails stopped and looked at Knuckles.

"You ok?" he asked him.

"I'm fine," Knuckles replied.

"He's had a bit of a flu bug all week," Ruby replied. Tails nodded.

"Getting plenty of rest and eating healthy will help that flu go away faster," Tails said, and he continued.

"By the way Knuckles, I like your necklace, where'd you get it?" he asked as he looked.

"Ruby made it for me. She found the pearl on Ember Isle," Knuckles replied. Tails nodded and ran the scanner along Ruby's abdomen for a few more moments, while Ruby and Knuckles waited. But he didn't have to search much longer before his smile began to disappear. He moved it around one last time, then let out a small "oh my."

"What's wrong?" Knuckles asked him. Tails put down the scanner and turned to face them.

"Ruby… I-I don't know how to tell you this," Tails said, sadness brewing in his voice. "Your child has died, about a week or so ago… you've had a miscarriage," Tails said quietly. "I'm so very sorry."

Ruby looked up at the monitor, tears brimming in her eyes. The fetus on the monitor was very small, and the heart meter next to it showed no signs of a heartbeat in the baby. Tears began to fall down Ruby's cheeks, and she spoke.

"It's dead?" she cried. Tails nodded slowly, tears in his own eyes.

"Again, I'm really sorry," he said quieter. "There's nothing you could've done. Ruby, it turns out you are infertile. You are unable to carry children; you have uterine fibrosis. The fertilized egg was unable to properly implant itself in your uterine wall. This is incurable, and I'm afraid you can never have children," Tails said, tears still in his eyes. "I can understand how hard this must be for you. I'll leave you two alone for awhile," he said, and he gave her a cloth to wipe off the jelly and left. Ruby wiped the jelly off her abdomen and turned to Knuckles and began to cry. She gripped onto his fur and cried into his chest. Knuckles knelt down by her and tried to whisper words to her to comfort her.

"I'm sorry Ruby," he said, "I really am."

"I killed it… And now I can never have children," she said.

"No, you didn't kill it. You had no control over this," Knuckles assured, stroking her forehead. "It's alright, you're going to be ok," he whispered.

"But Knuckles… I really wanted to have a baby. It may not have seemed that way, but I wanted to have children with you… now I can't," she sobbed, and she turned around so her back was facing her, and she cried into her hands. Knuckles didn't know what to say to that, so he stood there, stroking her heaving shoulders gently and whispering small words like, "I know," and "I'm sorry."

Tails watched through the window in his garage. He had tears in his eyes still, and he felt so terrible for them. He watched Knuckles comfort her, as she sat there and cried. Tails wished there was something he could do, but he knew of nothing. His ears drooped, and he walked off into his home, leaving the two of them alone. He felt as if he'd failed them as a doctor.

* * *

Two nights later, after the miscarriage was all taken care of, Knuckles and Ruby slept the furthest apart that they ever had. Halfway through the night, Knuckles awoke to the sound of Ruby's crying. He rolled in bed to find that Ruby, with her back to him, was curled up into a small ball and crying in her sleep. Knuckles looked at her sadly, then he scooted closer to her and hugged her from behind. Ruby gasped slightly, surprised, but then she continued to cry. Knuckles felt her body shuddering against his, and he hugged her tighter.

"I know… I know, I'm sorry baby," Knuckles whispered, his arms wrapped around her and stroking her neck.

"I don't know what to do anymore," Ruby whispered. Knuckles laid his head on top of her shoulder, right next to her head, and kissed her neck sympathetically.

"We could always adopt," he said. "…Not now, but later … but it's not like we could never have children," Knuckles said quietly, stroking her chin now.

"I guess we could," Rachel stammered, still crying. "But I wish we could actually have a child, one made of our own flesh and blood," she whimpered.

"What's done is done," Knuckles replied. "We had no control over this, and it's in the past." Ruby turned to face Knuckles and smiled, wiping her eyes. She wanted to hug him tight, but Knuckles grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"Please don't, my stomach has not been treating me the greatest lately," he said.

"You still got that bug?" Ruby asked him. Knuckles didn't answer, but she suspected the answer was yes. Ruby instead put a hand to his cheek and kissed him.

"I'm sorry about all this," she said.

"And so am I," Knuckles replied. "Now can we get some sleep?" he asked.

"Yes," Ruby said, and she turned onto her stomach and began to relax, letting out a sigh. Knuckles sighed as well and lied on his back, looking up at the ceiling. Now if only his stomach would stop cramping so he could go to sleep peacefully!


	6. Chapter 6

Knuckles awoke early that morning, unable to go back to sleep after a strange dream, rubbed his tired eyes, and shuffled into the bathroom to take a shower. He thought, "_Might as well get an early start today._" Lucky for him, this was one of the best mornings he'd had recently. Some mornings he'd wake up sicker than a dog, and sometimes he'd actually vomit. The stupid bug he had lasted nearly 2 and ½ months, and Ruby was beginning to get worried. But he didn't want to tell her how awful he felt; after the news they'd just found out, he didn't want to add one more thing to her plate. It was already tear-jerking enough having to call off a baby shower because she'd had a miscarriage, he didn't want her to worry.

Knuckles closed the door behind him and yawned, as he turned on the shower and waited for it to get hot. He took off his shirt, his necklace hitting his bare chest, and suddenly he gasped.

"Whoa…" he mumbled. His stomach was bloated around the middle, making him appear bigger by about an inch-and-a-half.

"Oh my god…" he mumbled, putting a hand to his stomach. "Am I getting fat?" Confused, Knuckles paced back and forth as the bathroom began to steam up from the shower. "_How is this possible?"_ he thought, "_I haven't been eating any differently now than I have before! And I still have my daily exercise?"_ Knuckles looked down at himself instead of looking in the mirror, but that didn't help, he actually looked bigger that way. He moaned and lowered his eyes. "_Maybe my metabolism is catching up on me?"_ he thought. He looked at himself, and this time, he actually smiled a little. "_Heh, it's funny_," he thought, "_I actually kind of look like I'm pregnant,_" he thought. But then his thoughts were interrupted, when he felt something that he'd never felt before. It was a cramp, but a strange cramp, and it didn't really hurt that bad. In fact, it felt weird. Knuckles gasped and touched his stomach. Then he felt it again, but this time, it clearly felt different, like a push against his skin. It was like in that alien movie; there was something living inside of him, and it was pushing against his skin from the inside. Knuckles stared at himself in the mirror, beginning to pant heavily.

"Oh my god…" he muttered again.

"_This couldn't be possible! It feels like I've got some living thing inside of me… like I'm pregnant or something! But that's not possible… isn't it?"_

Knuckles turned off the shower and dug in the cabinets for those pregnancy testers Ruby had bought. It felt awkward taking the test, being a guy and all, but he needed to know! He nearly jumped off his seat when the results came up. He looked at the test and gasped, his eye twitching, as he stared at it in awe and disgust.

Positive? How could it be positive? He was pregnant? Knuckles dropped the pregnancy tester to the floor and stared at himself in the mirror, putting a hand to his belly. He just couldn't believe it, and he needed to know for sure. Knuckles put on a sweat shirt, to hide his stomach, and snuck out, while Ruby was still asleep, and headed to Tails' house.

* * *

Knuckles didn't want to tell Tails about this, it'd just be too humiliating, so he snuck into Tails' garage, checking to make sure Tails was still asleep before he did. Knuckles turned on the light and walked up to the ultrasound machine.

"Now let's see, how did Tails work this thing?" he mumbled to himself, and he flipped the switch. The machine whirred to life, and Knuckles grabbed a bottle of petroleum jelly sitting near it. Still standing there, he pulled up his sweatshirt and smeared it onto his belly and picked up the scanner.

"I hope I know how to do this," he mumbled, and he placed it onto his stomach, not bothering to lie down. He did what Tails had done before, and ran the scanner around the bump of his abdomen, and it didn't take long for him to see the results he didn't want to see.

"Oh no," he murmured, as he looked up at the monitor. Right there, he saw a small fetus, curled up in what appeared to be his stomach cavity. He could see its head and one of its hands. Knuckles began to pant heavily, staring up at the monitor, at the fetus. The monitor next to it showed the quiet, constant beating of the fetus' heart.

"_I'm pregnant! I've got a living, breathing baby inside of me! Oh my god!"_

Suddenly, Knuckles' cell phone began to ring, which startled him. But also, it was loud, and Knuckles could see a light in the far end of Tails' house turn on.

"Ho shit!" he whispered. Quickly, he turned off his phone and the machine, and wiped off the jelly. He was halfway out the door, still pulling his sweat shirt down, when he realized he'd forgotten to turn off the light in there. He knew he couldn't very well turn around and go back, so he kept running, until he was a block or so away from his house, and he couldn't run anymore.

Tails ran into his garage, to find the light on and the door open. Luckily, nothing was stolen.

"Who's there?" Tails called, but no one answered. He looked over towards the ultrasound, which happened to be not in its place, and Tails raised a brow confusedly.

Knuckles panted heavily and stared over at Tails' house, hunched over. He'd forgotten that excessive exercise when pregnant isn't good for the baby, and he let out a long sigh. He cautiously touched at his stomach again, when his phone began to ring again. This time, Knuckles did answer it; it was Ruby.

"Hello?" Knuckles answered.

"Why did you hang up on me? Where are you?" Ruby asked him. Knuckles replied, still slightly out of breath.

"I'll be home soon… and Ruby? I've got something to tell you that you're not going to believe," he said, and he hung up.


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter seven is up, finally! Again, as I said with my last update, I've been busy with [boring] summer school recently, sorry. Luckily, it's almost over! Anyways, ignore all my lame personal blabber, here's the next chapter._

* * *

_She looked at me like I was insane… although I probably would've thought the same way if it were some guy I knew too. After I told her what I knew, I didn't really know what else to say, and I remained silent while she sat with me on the couch and tried giving me the "lecture" about how girls are different from boys._

"…And if you haven't noticed, you're the boy and I'm the girl," Ruby reminded Knuckles for the 15th time. "And it normally ends up being the girls that have the babies, not the boys," she said, with an "I can't believe you're pulling this kind of joke" type of tone.

"Do you think I'm a moron? Of course I know that!" Knuckles replied irritably, standing up. "Look, I'm only saying what I saw and felt." Ruby glared at Knuckles for a moment, before her glare softened and she walked up to him.

"Oh honey… I know the infertility was a bit of a disappointment, and I realize that you're still upset; I'm still sad too. But I think you're going a little too far here," she said softly, taking his hand in hers. Knuckles just backed away and took his hand away from hers, still looking at her.

"Do you really think I'd make this up? What would I possibly have to gain?" he asked her.

"Knuckles…" Ruby tried, but Knuckles turned from her.

"Forget it! If you're not going to believe me, then I'm going to Tails' place!" Knuckles said bitterly. "Maybe he can figure out what's going on." It was quiet for a moment, before he heard Ruby call his name again, from right behind him, and he turned to look at her. She looked into his eyes for a few moments, but then they trailed down to his chest, and she reached up and unzipped his sweater. She could easily see the slight belly bump sticking out from his shirt, and she ran a hand across it. Knuckles could see her eyes growing wide as she stroked him.

"Ruby… I'm not joking," Knuckles said with a low voice, and she looked up at him. He could tell she was having a hard time still trying to not believe him, and he could see tears in her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her tight, as the tears slowly rolled down her cheeks.

"Why are you crying?" Knuckles asked, trying to laugh as he spoke, to calm her. But then she quickly shoved herself away and wiped her eyes, taking Knuckles' hand in the process.

"C'mon, we're going to Tails' house now," Ruby said sternly, though her voice still crackled a little.

"No no, I can't!" Knuckles said, digging his feet in the carpet.

"There is a possibility that a little baby is growing inside of you, you are going to a doctor!" Ruby said, tugging on his arm.

"No! Do you know how humiliating that would be?" Knuckles replied.

"C'mon, it's just Tails!" Ruby replied, while she went behind Knuckles. "You and I both know him, he's a sweetheart! If you ask him, he won't tell anyone about this," she said, and she gave him a shove from behind and he stumbled forward and out the door.

* * *

Knuckles fumbled with his sweater jacket as they approached Tails' house.

"Oh leave the sweater off," Ruby told him, reaching to take it off. Knuckles pulled his arms away from her so she couldn't remove it.

"No, leave it!" Knuckles told her. The two approached the house and Ruby rang his doorbell. She began to take off Knuckles' sweater again, and he tried to block her again.

"I want Tails to see the evidence from the beginning!" Ruby said to him in a sharp whisper, while they waited for Tails to answer.

"No, it's embarrassing!" Knuckles whispered, pulling the sleeves back on. At that moment, Tails opened the door, and Knuckles dropped his sweater.

"Hey Knuckles, hey Ruby, what're you doing here?" Tails asked, and he looked over at Knuckles. "Uh, Knuckles… are you getting fat?" Tails asked him. Knuckles looked down at his unzipped sweater and his cheeks blushed, as he quickly zipped his sweater back up.

"Actually, that's what we'd like to talk to you about. May we come in?" Ruby asked. Tails raised a brow confusedly.

"Uh… ok?" he replied, opening the door for his guests. As the two walked in, Knuckles snuck an angry glare towards Ruby.

Tails closed the door behind them and turned to face his friends. "So, what's this all about?" Tails asked them. Knuckles gave Ruby a look that told her, "Would you like to do the honors?" and Ruby let out a long sigh.

"Knuckles thinks he might be pregnant," Ruby replied. Guessing by Tails' surprised and slightly disturbed look, Ruby explained. "He's been having terrible morning sickness recently, for the last few months, and as you've already noticed, he's gaining a lot of weight," she said. Tails looked at Knuckles like he was crazy, and Ruby like she was crazy for believing him.

"You do realize that's kind of impossible, right?" Tails finally asked them.

"I know I know, but please, can you just check it out anyways?" Knuckles replied. Tails closed his eyes and sighed, shaking his head.

"Oh alright… anyways, I was supposed to be your family's pregnancy doctor," Tails replied, and he walked forward, gesturing them to follow. He took them into his doctor's office/mechanic/garage and seated Knuckles on the table. Tails brought out the ultrasound again and plugged it in and switched it on. Then he had Knuckles lift up his shirt and he squirted the petroleum jelly on his stomach and placed the scanner on his abdominal area. It didn't take long for Tails to find something, and his mouth gaped.

"This just doesn't make any sense… this can't physically happen…" Tails muttered.

"W-Well… is he?" Ruby asked Tails. The fox took one last look at the monitor just to make sure, before he looked at them and slowly nodded.

"Oh my god…" Ruby muttered, surprised.

"I told you I wasn't kidding," Knuckles said quietly to her. Tails moved the scanner around again to get a better look at the situation.

"It appears as though you have an extra cavity just below your stomach that the child is growing in," Tails replied. "I have no clue how it got there, but it doesn't look like it's cause any of your other organs any discomfort. The pouch does not, however, appear to have any way out… they're going to have to be removed via C-section," he said. Ruby and Knuckles' eyes widened at what Tails had just said, and they looked up at the fox.

"They? What do you mean they?" Knuckles asked. Tails adjusted the scanner a little as he spoke.

"My scanner is picking up two heartbeats. It appears as though you're having twins, look here," he said, gesturing to the ultrasound. They looked up at it and distinctively saw two developing fetuses.

"How is this possible?" Ruby murmured, as she looked up at the screen.

"I could try doing an initial scan of you and try to see if there's any particular reason why this occurred," Tails offered to Knuckles. Knuckles only nodded in reply, still shocked from hearing that he'll be having twins. Tails handed Knuckles a towel, who blankly wiped his stomach off and pulled his shirt back down, then got up and followed Tails. Tails led him to a big contraption that he was supposed to step into.

"Go on and step in," Tails told Knuckles, but Ruby took his arm and stopped Knuckles from going in.

"Wait, what about the babies? It won't harm them, will it?" she asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, the machine is perfectly safe and will not harm them. I've used this on several people before," Tails assured, and Ruby let go of his arm. Knuckles stepped inside and the door closed behind him. Tails pressed some buttons on a computer attached to the machine, and it whirred to life. A greenish-blue light ran up and down the machine twice and it was done, and Knuckles stepped out. Ruby hugged onto Knuckles' arm while Tails got the results.

"Hmm… it appears as though there is a strange power source emanating from the pearl on your neck," Tails said, and he stepped away from the computer and up to Knuckles. "May I?" Tails asked, and Knuckles nodded. Tails lifted the necklace from his neck and held the pearl between his fingers, twisting it.

"What exactly is weird about it?" Ruby asked. "I just found it in a coral bed." Tails put his free hand to his chin and began to think out loud.

"The power from this pearl is very ancient, so this pearl has to be at least a thousand years old. It could have some sort of voodoo curse on it or something," he pondered.

"What, so I've been cursed or something?" Knuckles asked him. Still holding the necklace in his hand, Tails walked over to the computer again, bringing Knuckles with. He clicked on something and looked at the computer for a moment, then back at the pearl.

"Do you want me to take it off?" Knuckles asked.

"No, don't!" Tails replied strictly. "I'm not sure if you took it off, if you'll go back to normal again or not! That could hurt both you and the fetuses if you did," Tails said. Knuckles fell silent.

Tails started to type on his computer, looking for answers, and after a few moments, he exclaimed "Aha!" and turned to face them.

"The necklace has a very ancient, magical spell placed on it, used to grant what people cannot have. If it was found by a poor man, he'd get wealth; if it were found by a sick man, he'd become healthy," Tails replied.

"And I can't have children, so it gave us a baby…" Ruby finished, astonishment and happiness in her voice. Tails nodded.

"Precisely."

"Well what about me? What if I didn't want this to happen?" Knuckles demanded. "Why couldn't it have just gotten Ruby pregnant and not me?"

"Maybe because you're the one wearing it?" Ruby suggested. Tails scooted away from the computer and looked up at them from his seat.

"Now, I want you to come every month for a checkup. The fetuses appear about four months old now, and they're growing perfectly normal," he said to them.

"Three months, actually," Knuckles corrected him.

"Oh, three? Well, they're definitely healthy then. They're growing fast!" Tails said.

"Great… maybe then that means it'll be done faster," Knuckles muttered.

"Don't worry Knuckles, we're going to be right there with you the whole time," Ruby said, massaging Knuckles' shoulder gently. She looked at Tails. "Knuckles here is being very self-conscious about all of this, so could you please not tell anyone else?" she asked him. Tails smiled at them and nodded.

"No problem, I won't tell," he said.

"Thanks," Ruby replied. "I think it's about time we left now," she said, tapping Knuckles shoulder.

"Don't forget to come in a month," Tails reminded them, as he followed them to the door.

"We won't!" Ruby replied. "And thank you for everything Tails," she said.

"Yeah… thanks," Knuckles said. With that, the two of them headed out the door.

"Bye! Seeya around!" Tails called, waving out the doorway.

The two of them headed down the street, slowly, towards their own house. Ruby looked over at Knuckles, to see how he was taking all of this now that he wasn't around anyone. He still seemed a little stunned to her, and she smiled and hugged him as they walked.

"Wow, twins! That's going to be a handful," she said.

"What am I going to do?" Knuckles asked her, his voice a bit shaky.

"Knuckles, please stop fussing," Ruby pleaded, as they approached their own house. "You have Tails, who's a great doctor, here to help you. And I'm always here to help; don't act like you've got nobody to back you up with this," she said to him, as she brought out the key and opened the door to their house.

"But I wasn't even sure I was going to be a good father, let alone a good mother!" Knuckles replied, as they stepped inside. Once Ruby shut the door, she turned to him and stood on her tippy-toes so she could kiss his lips. That silenced him, and she spoke.

"Don't get any bright ideas mister; they're still going to call me mom and you dad," she said humorously to him. "And please, don't give me any of this 'bad father' junk. I know you're going to be the best father to these two, and you know it too," she said, running a finger on his chest, then kissing him again.

"You really think so?" he asked her after she finished. Ruby nodded and hugged him from the side.

"Yes, I do… daddy," she said quietly in his ear, and she let one hand fall down to his stomach and she stroked it.

* * *

_Wow, twins! How [not] original! I know, so many pregnancy and mpreg stories involve them having twins, but I just couldn't resist! I'll try to update soon!_

_Oh, and PS note, happy 4th of July everyone! Have fun, and enjoy your fireworks if you have any, cuz we're having a drought, and there are burn bans right now. We don't get fireworks :( Oh well, enjoy the holiday everyone!_


	8. Chapter 8

_Sorry I haven't updated this story in awhile. I just recently got a Deviantart account, and I've been having fun setting that up and stuff, and have forgotten to update my stories. If you want to check it out, I'm super-sonic-iblish on Deviantart. Just search it, and you can look at my work [if you want.]_

_Well, here's the next chapter. It actually has a lot of detail in the little things in this chapter. I was working on this at 11 o'clock at night, bored out of my mind, so I kind of went a little overboard with the descriptions and wording. That's why it's longer [otherwise, this chapter would've been really short.] Well, here you go; enjoy!_

* * *

Knuckles rolled to the other side in bed, but it was no use; he just could not get comfortable. It'd been a couple of weeks since he'd found out about the babies, and in that time, they'd grown. Now, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep in, and not to mention that baby two kept kicking him in his ribcage. He rolled to his other side, facing the clock, and he looked at the time. 1:30 Am; he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep the whole evening! Finally, he moaned and sat up, rubbing his tired eyes, but waking Ruby in the process. She looked up from her pillow at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked him in a whisper, sitting up as well.

"I can't sleep," he replied. "Every time I change positions and get comfortable, they move and it's uncomfortable again. And they keep kicking me." Ruby scooted closer to him and gently began to massage his shoulders.

"I'm sorry," she whispered in his ear.

"This is torture; how do girls put up with this?" he asked, looking back at her. Ruby shrugged.

"We kinda don't," she replied. "Girls don't like it either, but we live through it." It was silent for a few moments, while Ruby massaged Knuckles' shoulders, and then Knuckles sighed and spoke.

"You can go back to sleep if you want. I'll just sleep on the couch," he said.

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked. Knuckles nodded, and he pushed himself off the side of the bed. He looked back at Ruby and smiled. Ruby smiled back and blew him a kiss, before he turned and walked out of the room.

After stopping at the closet to grab a blanket, he walked into the dark living room and sat down on the couch, propping his back up with a pillow before he laid back. After a few moments of relaxing, he reached for the TV remote and turned it on. He turned the volume down, so low that he could barely hear it, and put it on a late night reality show he didn't really care about. Letting out a long sigh, he relaxed on the cushions and pulled up the blanket. He was bathed in the light of the TV as he blankly stared at his feet for several moments, and then he looked down at his belly. It seemed the moment he got up and stopped lying down, the babies remained motionless and finally gave him a moment of peace. He reached out with one hand and rubbed at his belly under the blanket, grimacing at the thought of how fat he will look once he's further along.

"It's only going to get worse from here," he muttered, and he let his hand fall to his side. He could hear the last bit of the audience's laughter from the sitcom show, and he looked over towards the TV to see what'd been so funny. One of the characters must've said a funny line. Another character retaliated to it with another funny one-liner, and Knuckles quietly laughed under his breath at the witty remark.

As Knuckles started drifting off to sleep, he began to think about the future. That's when the problem "What am I going to tell my friends?" came up. Knuckles opened his eyes and mumbled.

"Shit, what am I going to tell them?" he asked himself. _"Not like I can hide this, and once the twins are born, we just tell them that Ruby was miraculously able to have kids again, now can I?"_ he thought. He knew he couldn't keep this a secret for long, especially from Amy. _"That girl would suspect that something was up, and she would keep prying until the truth comes out. And she wouldn't keep the secret long either!" _he thought. "_Honestly, I'm lucky Tails is keeping the secret so long."_

Knuckles' thoughts were interrupted by his stomach growling, and he sat up. At first, he thought he could ignore the fact that he was hungry, but soon his stomach began to cramp and growl louder.

"This is getting tiresome!" he mumbled, as he stood up and stretched, then walked into the kitchen. The tile floor felt cold under his bare feet, as he walked up to the fridge and opened it, allowing light from the fridge to pour into the dark room. He wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for, so he grabbed out a vanilla pudding cup and a bottle of water, and kicked the fridge door shut as he left, plunging him into darkness again. Knuckles felt blindly, since his eyes were re-adjusting to the darkness, for a spoon in the silverware drawer, then he walked back into the living room and sat down. He wrapped the blanket around his legs, which had formed goosebumps from the cold floor, and opened his pudding cup. He ate one bite and then twirled the spoon in his fingers, looking at the TV.

"I hope not all nights are like this," he mumbled to himself, before he scooped some more pudding onto his spoon. He paused a moment and looked up at a commercial with a bored expression, before he raised the spoon to his mouth once again. He licked it clean and placed it back in the plastic cup of pudding, then he set it on the coffee table to finish later and sat back on the couch, rubbing his tired eyes again. He felt one of the babies switch positions, pushing either its knee or its elbow against his skin, and a little bulge appeared.

"Ow, god, that actually hurt!" he muttered, and he pulled up his nightshirt and pushed the bulge down. However, a moment later it reappeared, just a little lower than it was before. "Cut it out!" he said to the unborn baby, and he pushed the bulge down again. This time, it didn't seem to come back, so he relaxed again and took a drink of water. "This is so overrated," he muttered to himself, as he brought his legs back up onto the couch again, pulled up the blanket, and tried to go to sleep. However, he felt another kick, and he opened one eye, looking down at his belly that stuck out from under the blanket.

"Yeah, yeah, goodnight to you too," he said, closing his eye again, and he brought his arms back behind his head and let out a long sigh. He never felt another kick the rest of the night while he slept in the light from the TV.

* * *

The time rolled by, and the babies began to grow bigger, so by the 5th month, the family's monthly trips to the doctor (AKA Tails' house) changed to house calls. Tails understood, and gladly obliged to visit their home once a month for the checkup, considering the list of things Knuckles already had to go through; he wouldn't want humiliation to be added onto the list.

Tails dug in his briefcase on their living room floor and pulled out a sphygmomanometer.

"Now, let's check your blood pressure," he said, and he pulled the velcro apart. **(Yeah, if any of you didn't know, the sphygmomanometer (SFIG'mo-mah-NOM'eh-ter) is that thing that they strap around your arm [and it gets really tight] to test your blood pressure.)**

Tails wrapped it around Knuckles' upper arm and began to squeeze the pump. It was silent for a moment, besides the sound of the air rushing through the tube when Tails squeezed it, until Tails spoke to break the silence.

"So, have you experienced anything unusual so far during the pregnancy? Anything that might be a problem or concern?" he asked.

"Yeah, I do," Knuckles replied. "Is it supposed to hurt when they kick?" he asked.

"Don't worry, sometimes it might hurt; that's normal," Tails replied. He looked at the gage and nodded, before he un-velcroed the machine from Knuckles' arm. "Well, your blood pressure is completely normal. That's the last of the tests, we're done," he said, as he put the sphygmomanometer back in his briefcase. "Now, any more questions?" he asked Knuckles. He was quiet for a moment, looking up at the ceiling as if he were pondering, before he nodded.

"Yes. I've been thinking a lot about this recently; if I'm going to need a C-section to remove them, and that means I can't possibly have contractions, then how will I know when it's… you know, time?" he asked.

"Well, we'll never really know when exactly it is time in your case," Tails started, rubbing at his chin. "But we have the estimated date of birth, and whether or not the fetuses are really ready to leave that exact day, I'm thinking we just schedule the C-section for that estimated date, just to be safe. We wouldn't want to try for earlier than that unless the situation demands it, or they could possibly be born too prematurely," Tails said. Knuckles nodded in agreement and his eyes trailed off. "Now, I would like to warn you Knuckles," Tails said in a different tone, and the pregnant echidna looked back at the two-tailed kitsune. "Since you are carrying two fetuses instead of one, you are going to be carrying a lot more weight," Tails said, and he brought something out of his briefcase. It was a couple of bricks.

"Jeez, how much stuff do you keep in there?" Knuckles asked Tails, but he didn't answer, and he placed the bricks on the floor, then pulled out a small drawstring bag. "By the time the 9th month rolls along, it's going to feel like this, everywhere you walk," he said, as he put the bricks in the bag and handed it to him. Knuckles lifted it, grunting at the heavy weight, and brought it up to his chest. He looped the straps around his shoulders so the backpack was facing his front instead of his back, and then he stood up. His eyes widened a bit and he actually stumbled, muttering small profanities in shock, while Tails only nodded and watched the echidna struggle against the weight.

"That's a lot of extra weight on your shoulders," he continued. "That's why, closer to the end of your pregnancy, to avoid weak ankles and a sore back and shoulders, I'd recommend remaining bedridden when the due date begins to roll by," Tails suggested.

"Wow, I can't believe they really grow to be that heavy!" Knuckles said, as he took the bag off his shoulders and dropped it to the floor.

"Oh, that's not the half of it!" Tails butted in, silencing Knuckles. "Not only will it weigh more, but since there are two fetuses taking up the same amount of space as one normally should, you will also appear a lot… uh, how should I put this? _rounder_ than a normal, one child pregnancy," he said. Knuckles sighed and let his tired shoulders droop. That was one of the things he feared the most, even more so than the C-section.

"Yeah, I figured that part out on my own," he said with a defeated voice.

"But hey, look at the bright side; at least nobody knows but me!" Tails said, to try and cheer Knuckles up.

"But how exactly am I going to keep this a secret?" Knuckles asked. "Someone's bound to come over sooner or later and see me! And even if they don't, how do we explain the two new babies after they are born?" Knuckles asked. Tails was unsure if the questions were rhetorical or not, so he changed the subject.

Standing up, he said, "Well, if you have any complications, feel free to call me anytime," and grabbed up his briefcase.

"Thanks Tails," Knuckles said quietly. It was quiet for a moment, before Tails looked from side to side and spoke awkwardly.

"Uh… ok, I'll be going now," he said.

"Take care," Knuckles said to him, and with that, Tails left their home.

As Tails walked back to his house, he began talking to himself.

"I feel so awful for him; I can't imagine what he must be going through!" he said to himself, kicking at a rock. "Well, at least it'll be all over soon, and then they're going to have two cute little babies to take care of!" he said, smiling slightly.

Eggman's spy-bot hovered for a few more seconds in the tree above the fox before it closed and turned off to charge.

* * *

"So, it seems the knuckleheaded echidna and his new wife are having a baby!" Dr. Eggman said, as he paused the recording from his spy-bot and turned in his chair away from his computer. "This is perfect!" he exclaimed. "I can kidnap the pregnant girl and use her as bait to capture both Sonic the hedgehog and Knuckles the echidna! Then I can roboticize them both!" he cackled, his voice echoing in the room.

"I see a fault to your plan," a voice said from the darkness, catching the obese doctor's attention. From the shadows in the corner of the computer-lit room, stepped Shadow the hedgehog and he stood before the doctor with folded arms and a disapproving glare.

"Oh, Shadow, it's you," Dr. Eggman said, relaxing in his chair. "What's wrong with it? Don't you like my evil plan?" he asked the dark hedgehog. He didn't dare reply about how he liked it.

"What are you going to do with the pregnant girl afterwards?" he asked. "You know from past missions how strong she is. If you let her go once you're done, she would only try to free her friends, resulting in the failure of your plan," he pointed out. "And if you do keep her caged up, then what about the unborn child? I'm pretty sure you don't know how to birth a child," he asked. Eggman scratched at the side of his head and hummed in thought.

"You have a point," he agreed. And then he widened his eyes and smiled, after getting an idea, and he turned to the dark hedgehog. "And that's why _you're_ going to do it!" he said, poking him in the white chest fur.

"What? Why me?" Shadow demanded, curling up his lip at the doctor angrily.

"Because you're the one who had a problem with my plan, I revived you from your suspended animation to begin with, and you still owe me a favor!" Eggman replied. Shadow clenched his fists and grumbled under his breath.

"But I don't know how either!" he snapped.

"You're a mammal, it'll come naturally to you!" Eggman replied, earning a glare from Shadow that could turn the bravest of souls to stone. Eggman rolled his eyes and growled in his throat. "Fine, then learn! That's what we have internet for!" he snapped, and he turned back in his seat and chuckled evilly.

"Ho ho, soon… soon Sonic will be mine!" he cackled, and he tapped his fingertips together, smiling evilly.

* * *

_... Shadow's f*cked now! 0_o I feel sorry for him! And just wait until Eggman and him learn the truth about this family's pregnancy... [muahahahahaha! I'm so evil!] I'll work on updating soon, don't worry!_


	9. Chapter 9

_I really want to get to the main part of the story, but I need to have this part happen in the story first, so I just made a little chapter with this happening, and the important stuff will happen next. _

_Well, enjoy the cute little chapter!_

* * *

Ruby and Knuckles were sitting at home one Saturday morning, around the 6 and 1/2th month, when they got a knock on the door. Knuckles looked up fast and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Ruby asked, looking back as she headed to the door to answer it.

"I don't want to be seen!" Knuckles said, and in the blink of an eye, he was in their bedroom with the door half-closed. Ruby moaned in irritancy and turned to answer the door. She answered it and smiled at who she saw.

"Oh! Hello Tails, Sonic; what're you two doing here?" she asked her two visitors. Knuckles felt his stomach drop when he heard Sonic's name mentioned. "_What on earth would he be doing here… unless if he knew the secret!" _he realized, and he dug his fingernails into the doorframe and listened in on their conversation with teeth clenched.

Ruby led the two boys inside and Tails let out a sigh and finally spoke.

"Ruby, I'm sorry… I told him," he said, looking up at Sonic, whose ears pricked up and he nodded. When Knuckles overheard, he felt his heart skip a beat and he dug his nails deeper into the wood. He didn't know how Ruby reacted, because she hadn't said anything yet. Then Tails continued. "…I'm sorry, but I couldn't keep the secret from my bro!" he defended. "But he promised he'd keep it a secret, really!"

Sonic spoke up to defend his brother. "Please don't be mad at him, it was my fault. I just wanted to see it for myself. I-I want to see my old teammate again," he said, smiling slightly. Knuckles looked out from the crack between the door and the frame, and could see the back of Ruby and his two teammates standing there in the living room. He hadn't realized that he was holding his breath, until he felt a pressure in his chest and he sucked in a deep, quiet breath. The babies were moving nervously, as if they sensed their mother's fast-beating heart and reacted as well, and Knuckles placed a hand on his belly and rubbed it gently to relax the kits. Ruby looked back towards Knuckles and made eye contact with him with an understanding look, and Tails' and Sonic's eyes followed. He could tell Ruby was telling him "Come on out," with her eyes, and he pulled his eyes away from his peephole and backed away from the door, arms bent at his chest nervously.

"Knuckles? It's ok… please come out?" he heard Tails plead. Knuckles shook his head, though they could not see if he did or not, and he spoke up.

"No, leave me alone!" he said, trying to sound mad. Sonic raised a brow at his old friend's odd behavior; his voice sounded cornered, like he was afraid of him or something.

"C'mon Knuckles, Sonic isn't going to say anything, I promise!" Tails bribed. Knuckles only shut the door on them.

"Knuckles, honey?" Ruby called, as she walked up to the room and knocked. Warily, she reached for the knob and opened the door, only to walk in and close it behind her. Sonic and Tails looked at each other.

"He's just a little self-conscious," Tails said to the blue hedgehog. They could hear Knuckles and Ruby talking quietly to one another from inside the room. It was awkward for a few moments, while the two of them just stood there quietly. Sonic cleared his throat and began to rock from his toes to his heels with his hands folded behind his back. And then, they saw the doorknob turn, and Ruby stepped out, coaxing Knuckles out as well, his hand in hers. Knuckles finally stepped into view, and he looked down at the floor, his cheeks bright red, as he stood before his friends. His shirt bulged out where the baby bump was, and a tiny bit of his lower belly already started to show, where his shirt didn't cover anymore. Knuckles scratched at the back of his head and never smiled, as he looked down at the floor and waited for Sonic to say something.

For a few seconds, Sonic just stared at Knuckles' unusual condition with a bit of shock on his face, before Tails elbowed him in the side and he blinked and cleared his throat nervously, looking down at Tails. The fox lip synched "be nice" to him, and Sonic gulped. He had to admit, he was shocked, and he didn't know what to say that the old hothead wouldn't take offensively. Finally, he spoke to the nicest of his ability.

"Oh, well… y-you look good," he said, making a shaky little smile and looking down at his feet. Sonic looked up when he heard a small sniffle, and he saw something he thought he'd never see. "A-Are you… crying?" Sonic exclaimed to the pregnant echidna, whose eyes were squeezed shut and a small tear forming under his eyelid.

"It's the mood swings," Ruby whispered to Sonic. Knuckles sniffled again and spoke, as the tear dribbled down his cheek.

"I hate false flattery, it's just another way to lie," Knuckles said quietly, as he wiped his eyes and opened them, looking directly at Sonic.

"I wasn't lying!" Sonic said.

"Oh shut up!" Knuckles demanded to Sonic. "I know you're holding back a cruel joke in there somewhere. Just get it over with and leave already!" he said.

"No, I'm serious! Some pregnant people look like a mess and have stretch marks and stuff. You look pretty good, considering they're twins!" Sonic defended, trying to give the hurt echidna a friendly smile.

"Yeah, sure; whatever you say!" Knuckles snapped in reply, still not wanting to believe Sonic. He leaned up against the wall in the hall and slid to the floor, face in his hands. Ruby was first to kneel down by him, and she stroked his cheekbone and kissed his forehead.

"It's ok Knuckles, he's not trying to be mean," she tried to convince him, still stroking his cheekbone comfortingly. Sonic took a step towards them, wanting to prove his point, but Tails took his arm in his hand and pulled him back.

"Maybe we should wait until the mood passes," Tails whispered to him. Sonic yanked his arm from Tails' grip and walked up to Knuckles, kneeling down by him, an elbow resting against the wall.

"Knuckles, it's ok," he said softly. "You don't see me laughing or poking fun, do you?" Knuckles wiped at his left, wet cheek and looked up at the speedy hedgehog. "I promised, I won't say anything," Sonic assured.

"But I know you're thinking it," Knuckles said with a quavering voice. Sonic sighed and placed a hand on the echidna's shoulder, and though he flinched when he touched him, he kept his hand where it was.

"Actually, do you want to know what I'm really thinking?" Sonic asked him. Without giving him a chance to reply, Sonic answered the question. "I'm thinking about how lucky you are, to have the chance to experience one of nature's biggest miracles," he said with the gentlest of voices, and Knuckles looked up at Sonic with surprised eyes for a few moments, before he clenched them shut again and sniffled.

"But it sucks!" he whimpered. Sonic huffed humorously and began to squeeze Knuckles' shoulder with his hand.

"Care to tell me why it sucks so much? I wouldn't mind catching up with you and your family," he asked the red echidna, tapping the back of his shoulder and bringing his hand away. Knuckles wiped at his eye and nodded, and he couldn't help but smile at the hedgehog's friendly face.

* * *

"Y'know, at first, I thought Tails had gone crazy when he told me you were pregnant," Sonic said to Knuckles. The three of them sat on the couch, while Tails was in the kitchen right next door.

Sonic put his hand under the pearl on Knuckles' neck and lifted it off his neck and into his hand, turning the pearl in his fingers.

"So this little pearl is what started all this?" he asked, looking closely at it.

"Yeah," Tails replied. "It's an ancient voodoo charm, used to give blessings to those who cannot have them."

"Hmm, do you think it could give me a girlfriend?" Sonic asked, dropping the pearl and looking up at them. Tails laughed slightly, but didn't answer his question and continued with what he was doing. He was tinkering with their sink, because it wasn't draining right recently, while Knuckles and Ruby brought Sonic up-to-date with their lives.

Sonic laughed at his own joke and looked at Knuckles and Ruby again.

"So, have you guys found out the gender of the twins yet?" he asked them.

"Nah, we want it to be a surprise," Ruby replied. Sonic let out another laugh and looked to Knuckles.

"Wouldn't it be hilarious if they were twins? It'd be like two mini Knuckles or Rubies around here!" he said, smiling.

"I hope not," Knuckles replied. "Then we could never tell them apart."

"Don't worry; I'm sure even if they are identical, you could tell them apart!" Tails said, peeking his head up from the sink to give his patient and friend a reassuring smile. Knuckles smiled back to say thanks and sighed.

"Honestly, I'm a little glad someone else knows," he admitted. "I was beginning to feel a little awful for keeping this secret from everyone."

"Just here to help!" Sonic cockily said, giving the echidna a smile. Knuckles looked towards Sonic with a stern look and spoke. "But that doesn't mean I want you to go and tell everyone about it now!" he warned. "This is still our secret, ok? The whole world doesn't have to know that I got pregnant!" Sonic and Tails both nodded in reply. But then, Sonic spoke again.

"So… how does it feel?" he asked. "I understand, it sucks, but… how does it really feel?" Knuckles could feel his cheeks warming up, signifying he was blushing, and he looked to his side.

"Well… it's, uh," he started, placing a hand on his belly, "It's interesting," he finally replied, looking down at his belly now. "It's so different; I just can't describe it… it's unlike anything you could imagine," he said quietly. "At first you just feel heavy, like you're carrying dead weight, but then they move, and you realize how real and how alive they really are," he said, tapping on his pregnant stomach with his thumb. "I actually find it comforting." Sonic, though he was surprised by the heart-felt answer he received, smiled and replied.

"That amazing, huh?" Knuckles only nodded in reply. Sonic leaned back on the couch and whispered "whoa" under his breath, contemplating what he'd told him. Then Tails peeked up from behind the sink again and spoke.

"How often do they kick?" he asked. Knuckles smiled; although he was their doctor, he was still a kid, and he was just as curious as any other kid, making him smile.

"Well, one of them is kicking right now, actually," he replied, pushing on his belly a little. Upon hearing, Sonic perked his ears up and looked down at Knuckles' belly. He couldn't see anything, but Knuckles knows more about it than he does, doesn't he?

"I know this may sound weird, but… can I feel?" Sonic asked him. Knuckles gave Sonic a quizzical look, one brow raised, but Sonic gave him a pleading look in reply, and he sighed.

"Sure," he said, and Sonic scooted closer to him on the couch. The blue hedgehog, most known for his speedy, "get up and go" attitude, displayed a very gentle and calm side, when he slowly and hesitantly reached towards his friend's bulging stomach and placed a hand on it. He laid his palm flat against Knuckles' t-shirt, but couldn't really feel much, besides a faint trace of Knuckles' heartbeat. The next thing Sonic knew, Knuckles had his hand around the hedgehog's wrist and was moving his hand.

"It's kicking over here; you should be able to feel it more over here," he said, with a slight awkwardness to his tone, as he moved Sonic's hand up to the start of the bulge, near his ribcage on one side. Sonic sat still, and a moment later, he felt a shift against his skin, and something push against his hand. Sonic's face lit up, and he smiled bigger.

"I-I feel it!" he said.

Suddenly Tails was standing up. "Can I feel?" he asked excitedly. Knuckles huffed and rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.

"Sure kid," he said. Tails bounded up to him, right next to Sonic. Sonic took Tails' hand in his and placed it where his hand was, whispering, "See? You feel it?" to him. Tails looked up at Sonic and nodded.

"That's so cool!" the young fox cried happily. Knuckles looked up at Ruby with a smile, and she was smiling back and shaking her head from over the couch.

"Where exactly is it right now?" Tails asked. Knuckles looked back at the fox, then down at his belly.

"Baby 1 is over here, and I think it's got its elbow in my ribcage right now," he said, and Tails took his hand away as Knuckles reached out and pushed against the stretched part of his t-shirt, by his right side.

"It's all the way over there?" Sonic asked with a surprised voice. Knuckles nodded.

"Baby 2 actually just moved. Now it's over here, right in the middle," he said, pushing against his belly right above his bellybutton.

"Wow! It moved fast!" Tails exclaimed, and Knuckles nodded in reply.

"So have you thought of any names yet?" Sonic asked the two of them.

"We've thought of a couple," Ruby said, "But so far we haven't really been able to decide on one good name for each of them. If they're girls, I like the names Emily and Katie."

"And if they're boys, I thought something like Alex, Kip, or Jake," Knuckles added.

"What about Skip?" Sonic offered.

"I think the name Melissa is kinda pretty!" Tails contributed.

"You guys are just making this more confusing!" Ruby said in a playful, joking manner, shoving Sonic slightly and beginning to laugh. Knuckles and the others laughed slightly too, and then he spoke.

"I'm sure it'll come to us when it's time," he said, looking over his shoulder towards the window.

* * *

_The stuff in this chapter, I just rambled on. I have the rest of the plot all planned out, right down to the letter. I just need to add the dialogue and extra stuff so it isn't so short. I'll update soon... if school starting this next Monday doesn't get in the way. *crosses fingers*_


	10. Chapter 10

Dr. Eggman smiled evilly as he typed in the coordinates onto the robot he was working on. Shadow loomed in the background, watching and waiting. The obese doctor typed in a few more numbers, and then he pressed the start button and the robot whirred to life. It turned to face Eggman and saluted him.

"Now remember, grab the pregnant female and get out of there as soon as possible! I don't want to attract too much attention or give her a chance to escape!" Eggman commanded to the robot. The robot finished its salute and spoke.

"Yes, my master!" it said, in a dark and metallic voice, and then it turned and jetted off, crashing through the ceiling. Eggman shielded his head from falling debris, growling "stupid robot" under his breath, before he turned to Shadow.

"Don't forget, once she arrives, you have full responsibility of her," he reminded the black hedgehog, who sighed and grumbled. "You're not to let her out of your sight!"

"Don't remind me," Shadow seethed, folding his arms where he stood and looking to the side. "_I hope I know what I'm doing,"_ he thought to himself, as a small twinge of worry actually popped into his mind. He sensed something was amiss, like something wasn't going to go well today.

* * *

"Do I have to?" Knuckles asked Ruby, who stood by the door. Knuckles sat on the couch, holding a coat in his hands. It'd come time for Knuckles' C-section date, which happened to be around mid-January. Knuckles' belly was as big as it could get, and he was basically fed up with being pregnant by now.

Ruby put a hand to her hip in an un-amused manner. "Yes, Tails specifically said he needs you at his house for the operation," she replied, opening the door and letting in the wintery breeze. Knuckles lowered his eyes and put on the coat, which only made him look more ridiculous, and he pushed with both hands to stand himself up.

"Don't worry, it'll only be Tails, Sonic, and I. Nobody else," Ruby assured. Knuckles sighed and walked up to Ruby, who gave him a little smile, before the two of them headed out.

As they walked, Ruby realized that it was completely silent, and she looked to Knuckles. He was walking with his head down and his hands in his pockets, completely silent, probably in thought. Ruby cleared her throat to break the silence.

"Just think, this time tomorrow, we're gonna' be parents!" she said, hugging Knuckles' arm.

"Yeah," he replied, his breath billowing out in a small puff of fog. He looked to Ruby and gave her a sympathy smile, though he was feeling very distracted and worried, and he kissed her forehead.

* * *

Eggman's robot flew through the trees, scanning the area for the coordinates assigned. And then, it found the mobians it was looking for. They were walking below on the sidewalk. The robot's glass eyes lit up red, as it scanned the two of them for the pregnant one. A moment later, it found its subject.

"Gestation detected, capture and report back to base," it said in its metallic voice, and it swooped down towards the two walking mobians.

* * *

Ruby's ear twitched at the sound of rockets, and she looked back and gasped.

"Look out!" she cried, and she pulled Knuckles aside, as a large, silver-grey robot swooped past them and rocketed forward. Ruby and Knuckles panted in fear, hand in hand, as they stared at the robot flying by.

"What is that?" Knuckles asked.

"I don't know," Ruby started. The robot stopped and turned around, facing the two of them.

"Capture and report back to base!" the robot repeated, and it rushed towards them again.

"…But whatever it is, RUN!" Ruby shouted, and the two of them dodged the robot and ran for Tails' house, where he and Sonic were. Ruby ran with Knuckles' hand in hers, with Knuckles lagging behind. For anyone who doesn't know, running while pregnant is very hard, and sometimes painful. Knuckles was huffing loudly, and was unsure how much longer he was going to be able to keep this up. He could hear Ruby shouting to him as she practically dragged him; "C'mon, we're almost there, don't give up!" she cried. But then, Knuckles felt terrible pain run up and down his legs and stomach, and he cried out in agony, letting go of his wife's hand and falling to the ground on his knees. Ruby stopped and looked back, screaming Knuckles' name, tears in her eyes. But it was too late, the robot reached down and grabbed Knuckles around the middle. Knuckles cried out at first, when it grabbed him tightly around the belly, and then he looked to Ruby. "If you want him back, take it up with the almighty Doctor Eggman!" the robot bellowed, and in a puff of smoke, it jetted off into the sky, leaving Ruby alone. She could hear Knuckles' voice echo as everything went back to calm, calling her name. Ruby stared up at the sky with tears in her eyes, but then she clenched her fists and growled, furrowing her eyebrows in anger. A tear still rolled down her cheek, but she wasn't about to lose her husband and children like this.

* * *

Sonic was watching Tails ready all of his medical equipment in the garage. Tails pulled out a set of operating scalpels, when Sonic asked a question.

"You know why things seem so odd Tails?" he asked.

"Uh, your guy-friend is pregnant with twins?" he asked sarcastically. Sonic shook his head.

"No no, it's not that. It's Eggman. I haven't seen eye or tail of him for, like, two years!" he said. "Huh, I wonder if he finally gave up?" he added with a shrug. But that's when suddenly, Ruby burst in the front door, shouting for Sonic. Sonic flinched from being startled and called "I'm coming," unsure if this was an emergency or not, and he speed-walked out of the garage. He found Ruby standing in the doorway, panting with tears in her eyes. Sonic rand up to her and took her hands in his.

"Ruby! What's wrong?" he asked her.

"It's Eggman! He's kidnapped Knuckles!" she cried, staring up at him with wet eyes. "_Great! I should've known he'd never give up on being evil!"_ Sonic thought. He looked back at Ruby and wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Don't worry, I'll get him back!" he said. Tails came out of the garage with his briefcase.

"I'm coming too!" he said. "Those two babies are due any time now, you'll need me." Ruby nodded.

"Thank you, thank you!" she said, and she turned to leave.

"Whoa whoa, where are you going?" Sonic asked her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"He's my husband! No way am I staying behind!" Ruby replied sternly, shaking Sonic's hand from her shoulder.

"Are you… sure you want to come?" Sonic asked. Ruby gave him a look.

"I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself," she said, and she headed out the door, followed by the hedgehog and fox.

* * *

The robot headed back to the base, carrying its captive with it. Knuckles pushed and pulled with all his might to free himself from the robot's iron grip, but with no prevail. He feared that the robot's tight grip would hurt the babies, for they had not moved an inch the entire time, which worried him. Knuckles bit his lip and prayed. "_Please don't kill them, please!"_ he thought.

The robot arrived at Dr. Eggman's base, and it crashed through the ceiling again and landed in the middle of the room.

"Mission successful, master!" the robot said, and it held Knuckles out toward a chair on one side of the room. The chair had its back turned to them, but then it turned around, revealing Eggman. He cackled evilly, and stepped into the light of the two holes in the ceiling. But then, his eyes widened and he slapped his face irritably.

"You bumbling piece of machinery! I said to get me the pregnant girl, not him!" he shouted at the robot. Shadow stepped into the room at the sound of the doctor shouting angrily.

"But sir, I have done as you commanded, sir," the robot said, and suddenly released its grip on the prisoner. Knuckles yelped and fell to the floor and immediately checked to make sure the babies were ok. He felt tiny movements, which relieved him, and when he looked up, Eggman was staring at him with wide eyes. Eggman bent down to have a closer look, and then he poked Knuckles' belly hard, causing Knuckles to wince, and then growl at him. Shadow stepped up to the doctor, looking from the man to the echidna. He wasn't as flustered by this, but he normally didn't show much emotion anyways. He made eye contact with the angry and scared echidna, and they shared a sense of curiosity for a split second, before Eggman broke their concentration.

"Extraordinary!" Eggman commented. "You are a male… and yet you conceive! Oh, Shadow!" he said, when he found the dark hedgehog standing next to him. "Look at this. Isn't it is very absurd?" he asked the hedgehog. Eggman reached out to touch Knuckles' belly, but the pregnant echidna growled in his throat and swung at the doctor with his fist to keep him away, but the robot grabbed Knuckles' arms to keep him from attacking or running. Eggman could now do whatever he wished to the echidna. He reached to his tool belt and brought out a tape measure, and wrapped it around the echidna's waist and around the widest part of his belly. Knuckles looked to Shadow with pleading eyes, hoping he'd come and help, but Shadow only stood there and watched. He looked back at the obese doctor when he felt him tightly squeeze his belly in one hand.

"Get away from me!" Knuckles snapped, and he kicked at the doctor. Eggman walked back up to Shadow, turning his back on the echidna, and looked at the number on the measure.

"He's huge! He must be having twins! Or triplets!" Eggman whispered to Shadow.

"Seems pretty accurate," Shadow replied.

"No matter, the plan will still work with him instead of the girl_,_" Eggman said to the hedgehog._ "But how does he conceive? Can he technically have a vaginal birth? Or does he need a cesarean?"_ he thought. All questions he needed to figure out, and soon. "Maybe I should at least be present during the birthing process, ok?" he whispered to the black hedgehog, who huffed and nodded. Then Eggman turned around to face the echidna with a smile on his face.

"Right," he said, loudly clapping his hands together, "Let's get started, shall we? I'm sure your friends will be here soon to find you." Knuckles gulped and felt his heart leap in fear and the babies kick nervously, sensing their mommy's fear.

* * *

Sonic, Ruby, and Tails made it to Eggman's base and rushed inside, dodging badniks and other robots in security, and headed straight into the base. It didn't take long for them to find the cells, where Eggman usually kept prisoners. They tiptoed among iron-bar cell after cell, looking for one that was occupied. Ruby whispered Knuckles' name, hoping he'd reply. And then, they heard clanking in one cell in the corner. They all ran up to it and found Knuckles bound by chains on the hands and feet and gagged with a cloth around his mouth. Knuckles looked up when Sonic shook the door, to try and break the lock. The pregnant echidna shook his head and tried to speak through the cloth, to warn them, but they couldn't understand what he was saying. Sonic took one final pull, and the door fell from its hinges and landed with a clank on the ground.

"That was almost too easy," Sonic pointed out, before he continued. Tails then ran inside and pulled out a hand-held laser and cut through the metal cuffs on his wrists and feet, while Sonic kept watch, and Ruby came up to Knuckles and untied the gag around his mouth. Immediately, Knuckles sucked in a short breath and shouted, "No, it's a trap!" And the moment he did, robots came and surrounded them from all sides, ambushing with sirens wailing, and they began grabbing each of the mobians so they couldn't attack or escape. Knuckles was free from all his cuffs except one on one hand, and he was shouting "No, stop, leave them alone!" while he yanked on his wrist, and finally ripped the chain from the wall. Ruby was fighting against the grip of one robot, and she punched the robot, destroying a critical panel on its chest that delayed it, and she took that as an opportunity and ran towards Knuckles, calling his name. Knuckles reached out with one hand, and so did Ruby. Their hands were so close to touching, when a different robot grabbed her around her waist and lifted her into the air. Now robots covered every inch of the room and every exit; none of them could possibly escape now. With Ruby and the others screaming in fear, and Knuckles unable to run, Eggman stepped out of the shadows, along with Shadow the hedgehog, and he spoke.

"Alright robots, at ease!" he said, and the robots stopped their loud sirens and held the three still in their tight grips. Sonic growled and looked up at the fat man.

"Well well, eggbutt! So nice to see you again!" Sonic sneered, and he proceeded to stick out his tongue. Eggman remained quite vigilant, but also kept a calm face.

"Sonic, you're 21 years old. I would have thought you've grown a bit more mature than that!" he said quietly, folding his hands.

"Let us go!" Tails cried, wiggling in the robot's grip. Eggman chuckled slightly under his breath and looked directly at the fox with a disturbing smile.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. All four of you have a date with my roboticizer," he said.

"You can't do this!" Ruby cried. "My husband is heavily pregnant, and is about to have our kits! Please, have mercy!"

"When will you realize that I don't have any mercy?" Eggman commented. Then he looked to Shadow, who stepped forward. "Besides, I have that all planned out and covered," he said with a smile. "I will birth your kits and kill them, then I will roboticize all four of you, and you all will be my slaves for all of eternity!" Eggman said. Knuckles backed up a step and snarled.

"Don't you dare touch me, or my kits!" he snapped, furrowing his brow in anger. Eggman snapped his fingers, and two robots came up from behind him and grabbed his arms.

"Oh, don't worry, it'll all be over before you have a chance to miss them," Eggman sneered, and one of the robots rammed Knuckles in the head with its arm, and everything went dark.


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the long update; I was struggling with writer's block for the longest time. That, and schoolwork taking up a lot of my time, was why I haven't updated in forever. I'll try to remember more often to update!**

* * *

Sonic, Ruby, and Tails were temporarily shoved into a cell, while Knuckles' unconscious body was dragged out of the room. Sonic tried with all his might to break the bars, but these ones weren't meant to be easily opened, and he could do no more than leave a dent in the metal. Sonic growled angrily and pounded his fists on the door.

"Come back and fight me Eggman!" he spat, "C'mon, you chicken-headed fool!" Sonic paced back and forth, seething and panting heavily, before he tried to ram the door again.

Ruby sat in the corner of the cell, her legs curled up to her waist and her arms cradling her knees, crying silently. Tails looked to Ruby when he heard a soft whimper between Sonic's furious shouts and the loud clanks. He saw Ruby was crying, and he scooted closer to her. Ruby looked up at Tails with red, puffy eyes, and she spoke.

"What're we going to do?" she whimpered. Tails, wordlessly, scooted closer and wrapped his arms around Ruby's shoulders and hugged her tight.

"Ssshh, sshhh, it'll be ok," he whispered to her. Another loud clank sounded out, which startled Tails and caused him to look up.

"Sonic, stop! There's no point, the door won't budge, so don't bother!" Tails shouted to the angry hedgehog.

"No! If I just hit it in the right spot, it'll give, I know it!" Sonic snapped, and he gave one more determined charge at the door. It did no difference, and only gave Sonic a worse pain in his sides. Tails sighed and looked back down at Ruby.

"It's alright," he whispered to calm Ruby, stroking her bangs gently.

It was a half-an-hour later. Sonic had finally given up on trying to escape, and for awhile he just stared out the cage bars into the darkness. A moment later, Tails looked up and called Sonic's name, his voice echoing in the empty room. Sonic looked back at Tails and found him hugging Ruby, to try and calm her. She was crying, and Sonic hated to see people cry, especially girls, and he walked up to her and knelt by her side. He hugged her as well, his arms on top of Tails', and he whispered to her. "It's alright Ruby, no way am I going to let him roboticize us, or kill your children," he promised. Just then, all the lights in the room turned on, temporarily blinding the three, and they could hear Eggman's laughter as they squinted in the white light.

* * *

Knuckles moaned as he came back into consciousness, and he found himself looking up into a bright light, and he squinted. He tried to shield the light with his hand, but realized his hand had been fastened to the table he was lying on. Wait a moment… table? Why on earth was he lying on a tabletop?

"H-Hey… what's going on?" Knuckles nervously stammered. He quickly realized that he had been stripped of his clothing, and only a towel covering his lower half was on him, and Knuckles suddenly felt self conscious. He turned his head to one side, but saw no one. He turned his head to the other side and saw something that sent a shiver down his spine; scalpels and other sharp and pointy operating knives sitting in a small tray were sitting right next to his head! Knuckles began to pant heavily in fear, and he tried to free his hands and feet, which were also cuffed to the table. He heard Sonic, Tails, and Ruby all call his name from somewhere around him. He tried to look ahead of him, but his pregnant belly prevented him from seeing what was in front of him. Knuckles gulped nervously and he tugged at his hands again, while he spoke to his friends.

"Guys..? Where are we, what's going on?" he frantically asked. See, Knuckles hated doctors and hospitals, especially when it came to operations, and the pregnant echidna found himself hyperventilating and beginning to freak out.

"Knuckles, calm down!" Ruby said to him sternly.

"Where are you, I can't see you!" Knuckles cried.

"It's alright, we're right here in front of you in this cage," Tails assured.

"Eggman didn't do anything to you yet, you're safe right?"

"No Knuckles, we're fine," Ruby assured gently, "Just calm down and breathe." Knuckles swallowed down the lump in his throat and he sucked in a deep breath to settle himself.

"Knuckles, use one of the scalpels to try and pick the locks on your hands and feet," Sonic told Knuckles. Knuckles looked to the knives by his side and he reached out with his hand for the knives. Knuckles grunted with struggle as he stretched his hand at the wrist for one of the knives. He was so close, when he suddenly felt a pain in his lower abdomen, rushing down his pubic area and legs, and he gasped in pain.

"What's wrong?" Sonic asked.

"Augh! I don't know!" Knuckles replied, "I suddenly felt this awful pain in my stomach!" Tails' voice spoke up immediately.

"These pains, were they sharp and quick?" he asked.

"Yeah… it's gone now, why?" Knuckles asked. "There isn't something wrong with the babies, is there?" he asked. He could hear Tails mutter, "Oh no, this is not good," which only made Knuckles more scared.

"Knuckles, you've gone into labor! The babies need to come out now!" he said to the echidna with a terrifyingly urgent voice. "If your water breaks, it could drown them, because the water will be trapped inside!"

"Eggman!" Ruby called at the top of her lungs. "Eggman, please, listen to us!" she called. And then another voice was heard, a darker and lower voice, and Knuckles looked to one side and saw Shadow walking into the room.

"Something I can do to help?" he asked.

"Shadow! Shadow, please, help him!" Ruby cried. "Knuckles has gone into labor, and he can't just push them out! Please, the kits will die if you don't remove them now!" She looked up at Shadow with tear-filled eyes, gripping onto the metal bars. "Please Shadow, you don't have to do anything else for us, just don't let our babies die this way!" she cried. Shadow looked over to Knuckles, who looked at Shadow and was panting heavily for a moment, before he winced, closing his eyes, gritting his teeth, and clenching his fists. Another labor pain passed, and when Knuckles opened back up his tearing eyes, Shadow was standing over him, and he placed a hand gently on his belly. He could feel the two infants moving under his skin, and Shadow looked away from Knuckles' terrified gaze.

"The doctor is planning on killing them anyways, why does it matter to you if they're born first?" he asked Ruby. Ruby sniffed and clenched her eyes shut, tears forced from her eyes to roll freely down her cheeks.

"Because I love them, and I want a chance to see them before they die," she said with a quiet, shaky voice. "Our first baby was a miscarriage. I didn't even get the chance to see it before it died; it didn't even get a chance to live! I want these two to live! Please, Shadow, let them live for awhile, for me!" Ruby cried, and she blinked back more tears. "…For us!" she added, before Sonic hugged her face into his shoulder for comfort. Shadow could feel mixed emotions forming in his chest as he saw Ruby hugging onto Sonic and crying, his blue counterpart only glaring back at him in response. Shadow then looked back to Knuckles. The laboring echidna was breathing heavily in fear and turning his head from side to side, his chest and belly heaving from his terrified breaths and his fur matted down with sweat.

"Fine, I'll birth your children," Shadow said, taking off one glove, and then the other, leaving his inhibitor rings on his bare wrists. Shadow's eyes glanced over to Ruby. The tearful girl mouthed the words "thank you" to him, before he looked away again. Shadow grabbed a syringe that was pre-filled with a clear liquid.

"Now, I'm going to numb you up really good, so you probably won't feel much of anything from the waist down," Shadow told Knuckles, who nodded tentatively.

"It'll be ok Knuckles," Ruby called to him, and though he couldn't reach her, he was sure that if she were by his side, she'd be squeezing his hand tight. Shadow flicked at the syringe to mix up the sedative, and was about to inject it into Knuckles' side, when suddenly the door burst open.

"Shadow, what is this?" Eggman demanded. "I said to leave the echidna alone!" he shouted.

"Doctor, the echidna is in labor, and his friends begged me to birth the babies before you roboticize them," Shadow said. His glare grew sharp and hard as he stared at the doctor. "I promised them I would, and I don't go back on my promises," he said sternly. Eggman growled in his throat.

"Fine, go ahead and get the little brats out! I'll get more enjoyment out of killing them then!" Eggman said, as he pulled up a chair and sat down near the door. Shadow injected Knuckles with the sedative; it hurt the echidna a little bit, but not half as bad as the labor pains hurt, so he hardly noticed. Shadow readied all his operating equipment and waited for the sedative to kick in, but from the obese doctor's perspective, it looked as though the hedgehog was just stalling. Eggman growled again and stood up.

"What is the hold up, Shadow?!" he roared, shoving his chair aside.

"I have to let the sedative spread before I can operate," Shadow explained. Eggman was just like a spoiled rotten kid on Christmas day, waiting around the tree to get his presents; the scientist wanted to play with his new robots, but he couldn't very well do that if he was stuck watching this.

"Who cares about the sedative, let's just get this over with so I can have my new robots!" Eggman yelled impatiently as he stormed up to the echidna on the table. He grabbed for any random scalpel on the tray with a disturbed sneer.

"Doctor, NO!" Shadow shouted, and without warning, Eggman ripped the knife across the flesh on Knuckles' abdomen, cutting into his skin and drawing blood. Knuckles' cries of agony echoed in the room, and Sonic, Tails, and Ruby had front row seats.

* * *

_All I could feel was throbbing pain, pounding like a heartbeat inside of me. My vision and hearing both were blurring, as I could see Shadow rushing up to aid as the doctor continued to cut me open. I could only hear and see small parts. I saw the two of them working behind my belly- then the picture and sound faded into a white blur. I could hear my wife and friends screaming my name in fear and agony, I could almost see Ruby's face as I heard her fearful crying- then everything faded again. I could hear my own heartbeat in my ears, growing louder and louder as the room's lights seemed to feel brighter. The pain was overwhelming, and I wasn't sure anymore if some of the screams I heard were my friends' or mine. I felt so guilty; along with all the pain, I was also forcing my friends and my wife to see me in this state. I couldn't imagine how Ruby must be feeling right now! _

_My fists were clenched so tight my fingers were turning white, as the unbearable pain started to make me feel light-headed. I could feel the weight on my body disappearing, and I strained my neck to try and see if my children had been born yet. Eggman was holding one of the children, and Shadow the other. They were massaging the babies' backs to get them to breathe- my vision and hearing faded yet again and the pain began to subside; I suspected either I was dying or the sedative was finally kicking in. And before things began to fade from view, I heard faint cries of infants, and I sighed a breath of relief, knowing my children were alive, before I fell out of consciousness._

* * *

The two babies cried their breaths of life, and they began to squirm in their hands, their eyes squinted shut and their furry little bodies bloody. Shadow looked down at the crying infant with curiosity, as a strange new feeling came over him; love. He looked to the mother, Ruby, who was looking at the two babies with happy tears in her eyes as she could see the two babies were alive and healthy. Then Shadow looked back down at the baby. It was a male; he was still crying and kicking his tiny legs in the air. Shadow, his mouth agape ever-so-slightly, reached down and wiped a smear of blood from the puny infant's face. And suddenly, Eggman reached forward and snatched the baby from Shadow's hands, so now he was holding both of them, one in each of his massive hands. Shadow immediately turned his attention back to Knuckles, who was unconscious and losing a lot of blood. He quickly began to stitch back up the gaping hole Eggman had ripped in his abdomen, wiping away blood and fluid from his fur and whispering his apologies to the unconscious echidna as he did so. Shadow sighed, as it was silent for a moment, and then he spoke quietly to the doctor, standing near him.

"You know, you could've killed him," he said to the man.

"Who cares?" Eggman replied, still looking down at the crying babies. He smiled widely at the infants, at the thought of strangling them in his grip, and then he glanced to the three in the cages. Sonic and Tails were still hugging Ruby, who still had tears in her eyes, but she was smiling and looking at the two babies. And then, Eggman got a brilliantly wicked idea that would torture the girl even more than killing the babies.

"Well, now that you've seen them, I guess that will be all?" he sneered to the girl. "Hmm, such a shame that these new lives have to go to waste like this," he said, looking down at the babies. He glanced back up to the three for a split second and smiled a big smile. "How about instead I keep the little rodents?" he proposed to the confused mobians. Eggman raised the baby's tiny faces to his, and his smile widened. "They'd make great sidekicks, and who knows, maybe they'll even become my successors?" he said. Ruby gasped at the thought and more tears began to form in her eyes. Shadow looked up from his work, and looked directly at the three shocked mobians.

"You wouldn't!" Ruby cried.

"Oh, I think we both know I would!" Eggman sneered, looking to the broken hedge-echidna. Ruby growled and suddenly reached out with one hand through the bars, growling and snarling, grabbing and clawing at the mad doctor to try and get a grip on his coat. Eggman, however, just backed away a step and watched as the girl seethed at him and tried to rip him to pieces, while Sonic and Tails tried to pull her back and calm her down. Shadow finished stitching and bandaging up Knuckles' abdomen, and he gently ran a hand over the echidna's now normal-sized belly, before he turned to face the others.

"Settle down little girl, before you hurt yourself," Eggman sneered, as he began to walk to the door, the babies' cries fading into whimpers and hiccups. Then Eggman turned to Shadow. "Throw him into the cell with the others," he commanded to Shadow, who nodded and obeyed. Shadow opened the door just wide enough to place the naked, unconscious echidna inside, and then he quickly closed the door before any of them even thought about escaping. The three of them immediately ran to Knuckles' side, and Tails began to look him over to be safe, avoiding eye contact with his body any lower than where the bandages were.

"Have fun being roboticized, as soon as I put these two somewhere safe." Eggman headed to the door with the two babies, and Ruby looked up and began to breathe hard from anger.

"EGGMAN!" she shouted, her voice cracking in the process, but the man just walked out the door, with Shadow following behind. The lights went out, plunging the animals into darkness. Ruby clenched her eyes shut, as more tears fell down her cheeks, as she looked back down at Knuckles and hugged him, her face nuzzled into his neck. Ruby cried onto her husband's shoulder, her tears wetting down his already dampened from sweat fur. But then she felt something touch the back of her head. She looked away from Knuckles' neck to find that he was the one touching her, and his eyes were half-opened. The echidna smiled and weakly huffed, his thumb gently massaging into the back of her head.

"Knuckles!" Ruby cried, and she hugged him tight. Knuckles grunted slightly from pain, but he hugged her back. "I'm sorry Knuckles… he took our babies away," she cried. Sonic and Tails stood away from the two of them, allowing the husband and wife to hug in peace. Sonic looked to the doorway of the cage and walked up to it. He was still very unsettled by what they had been forced to watch, and he felt his stomach churn as he looked back at the bloodstains on the floor outside of the cage. Sonic screwed up his face into a grimace and he slammed his fists into the door.

"We're never going to make it out of here!" he cried. "I-I can't believe it! Eggman finally won…" his voice trailed off. A tear fell down Sonic's cheek, and he looked back at the three of his friends. Tails sat on the dungeon floor, appearing to have lost any and all hope. Ruby and Knuckles were still hugging, and Ruby could still be heard crying and sniffling as she buried her face into her spouse's neck. Knuckles' eyes were glazed over with sadness and pain as he stared up at the ceiling; he could still feel some pain in his body, and was probably still numb from the waist down, though he hadn't tried to get up yet. Sonic let out a long sigh and he sat down as well.

"I'm sorry guys… I failed," he said quietly to his friends.

"It's not your fault this happened," Tails said, looking up to him. "But now we might as well face the facts; we're about to become a bunch of metal monsters," he said. But then they heard the creaking of the door slowly opening, letting in light from the outside. Sonic stood up fast and looked towards the door, as a dark figure stepped into the room. Sonic raised a brow and backed down in confusion.

"Sh-Shadow?" he asked. The black and red hedgehog stepped towards their cage and spoke.

"I've come to free you," he said.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry for the late update. I was stuck for an ending at first. But I'm hoping that now I've spent some time thinking of a good ending, that you'll like it! This is the last chapter, ok?**

* * *

"I've come to free you," Shadow said.

Sonic stared at Shadow for a moment, before he spoke, a brow raised.

"Why?" he asked. Shadow pulled out a key, and placed it into the keyhole in the door.

"Because… Those two infants need real parents. The doctor will never be able to rightly raise the two, and probably put them in the hands of one of his robots. They need real, living parents," Shadow admitted, as he opened the cage door. Sonic walked out of the cage and looped an arm around the dark hedgehog's shoulder.

"Thanks Shad!" Sonic said to him with a smile. Shadow only ignored the blue hedgehog's friendly gesture and shrugged his arm off his shoulder. Tails walked out of the cage a moment later and smiled at Shadow. The hedgehog nodded to the fox kit in reply and then looked to Ruby and Knuckles to see their reaction. Ruby was looking down at her husband, but then she glanced at him and curled her lip into a small, half smile. Knuckles was propping himself up with his elbows, but unlike everyone else, he seemed to be eyeing him suspiciously. Shadow looked away, his ears now flattened against his head.

"Thank you Shadow," Ruby said quietly to him a moment later. One of his ears pricked back up and turned towards the sound, but he did not look back at them. "Let's just go get the infants and get out of here," he said, before walking over to the door to keep watch.

"That's going to be kind of hard. I can't move my legs, they're still numb," Knuckles replied, looking down at his limp feet.

"And you're in no condition to run anyways," Tails added. "You've lost a lot of blood from the surgery; if you weren't numb, you'd be too weak to walk anyways."

"I could take Knuckles out of here while you guys go find Eggman," Sonic offered, stepping up to the echidna. Tails looked up to his best friend with an almost shocked expression.

"Really Sonic? You'd pass up a perfectly good opportunity to beat Eggman's butt?" the fox questioned. Sonic smiled back.

"This is Knux and Ruby's fight, not mine," he replied. "And besides, I'm the only one who could get Knuckles out of here fast enough. Shads needs to be with you guys because he knows his way around the place," Sonic added. Shadow looked back upon mentioning of his name and he nodded in agreement, but Knuckles seemed disappointed.

"There's no way I'm letting you go by yourself!" he said, looking up to Ruby.

"I won't be by myself," Ruby replied, "I've got Shadow and Tails with me!" She walked up to him and crouched down. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about," she said, before kissing his cheek. Knuckles' eyes rolled down to the ground, and although he wasn't quite ready to trust the black hedgehog and didn't like the idea of his wife being with him, he muttered "Alright" and the three ran for the exit.

"We'll meet you outside the base," Sonic shouted after them, before they left.

"Alright Knux, let's get you out of here," Sonic said, bringing the echidna's eyes to his companion. Sonic knelt down next to the injured and still bleeding echidna and carefully lifted him into his arms.

"Careful, I may be numb, but it's still- OUCH!" Knuckles cried, wincing when his waist bent slightly and cause a wave of pain to flow through his body.

"Sorry," Sonic whispered, "But keep it down, you want to get spotted?" he asked, and he started running, careful not to jerk his injured friend around too much.

* * *

Shadow, Ruby, and Tails ran through the narrow hallways. Shadow took the lead, for he knew where to look, while the mother and the fox followed behind.

"Where are we going?" Ruby asked Shadow.

"The doctor would be in one of two places; the roboticizer room, or the infirmary, depending on where he headed to first," Shadow replied. "The infirmary is right down there, I'll check it out first," he said. Shadow turned a sharp corner down a hallway and slowed to a walk, as they approached a door that was halfway opened. Shadow looked back to the other two and signaled them to stay quiet.

"I'll go in first. If it's safe, I'll call you," he whispered to them, and he walked inside.

Ruby and Tails stood, pressed against the wall and breathing heavily from fatigue, waiting in near-silence for a signal from Shadow. A moment later, a growl and a crash was heard that broke the silence and startled the two of them. As soon as the sound came, it was gone, and footsteps were heard, heading towards the door. Ruby's back tensed, and she stood alert and ready for whoever or whatever was going to show its ugly face once it stepped out from the door. The steps stopped for a moment, pausing at the door knob, and then the door was swung open. Ruby and Tails simultaneously gasped and flinched, ready to attack if necessary, but it turned out to be Shadow, and they relaxed their posture.

"It's safe, come in," Shadow said before walking back inside the room, with the other two following behind him. When Ruby saw a wooden cradle in the corner of the room, her heart leapt for joy and she ran straight to the bed and peered inside. Safely nestled in their own blanket, the two babies were sound asleep inside, and Ruby let out a deep breath of relief.

"Oh thank God!" Ruby whispered, as she reached down and brushed a hand gently against one of the baby's warm, pink cheeks.

After seeing the babies were ok, Tails' attention began to stray, and he walked towards the door. "What was that crash we heard before?" he quietly asked, but he was quickly answered when he saw the pile of remains of a smashed robot lying near the door. "Oh… I guess it was that," Tails muttered, and he knelt down to look at the parts.

"The robot was probably assigned to take care of the infants," Shadow replied from behind Tails, causing the young fox to flinch and look up at the hedgehog behind him. "It probably wasn't armed or anything, but better safe than sorry," Shadow continued. Tails just looked at the hedgehog for a few moments, thinking over his statement before he said it.

"Y'know, you're the only reason these babies are still alive right now. Thank you Shadow," he said with a warm smile. Shadow looked to the little fox for a moment, before he began to feel a strange feeling in his chest, and he looked down and walked out the door and leaned against the wall. He couldn't quite describe this feeling he had, and he hadn't felt it in quite awhile either.

"You don't have to be embarrassed," Tails said, walking out the door to be with Shadow. After seeing the dark hedgehog's reaction to what he said, he worried that he may have gone too far with what he said; Shadow was not normally a "touchy-feely" kind of guy. "Y-You're a hero. That's nothing to be ashamed of," Tails clarified, placing a hand on the hedgehog's shoulder. Shadow didn't look to him when he spoke.

"I feel like my heart is being torn open," he said quietly, looking down at the ground.

"Oh no, are you hurt?" Tails asked fearfully.

"No," Shadow quickly replied, stopping Tails from continuing. Shadow turned his head to look at the fox. "No," he repeated, "It feels… good." He looked forward again and huffed, shaking his head slightly. "I haven't felt this way in a very long time… not since I last saw Maria," he said in nearly a whisper. Tails felt a lump forming in his throat. He remembered Shadow murmuring something about Maria several times before, she must've been someone important to him. He wanted to ask, but feared it was too sensitive of a topic, and he just remained quiet.

After a moment of silence, the fox's hand still resting on Shadow's shoulder, Ruby emerged from the room with the two naked, slumbering babies in her arms.

"Are we ready to go?" she said to the two guys. Tails' hand slid back to his side, and he turned to face Ruby.

"Yeah, let's get out of here as soon as possible," Tails said.

"I'm about ready to pound that egghead's face in so far!" Ruby sneered with a grin. That was when Shadow spoke up.

"It's probably best if we didn't," he said, turning to face them. "We're lucky he wasn't with the infants, so to prevent any further complications, I highly suggest we just sneak out without making a big scene, and deal with the Doctor another day," he suggested. Ruby sighed disappointedly.

"I guess you're right," she admitted. "We should just get these two to safety right now," she said, looking down at the babies in her arms.

"How're we going to get out of here then?" Tails asked, looking to Shadow for an answer. Without a reply, Shadow began running. Suspecting that he was headed to the exit, Ruby handed one of the babies to Tails for easier carrying, and the two took off after him.

The three animals ran down the strangely silent paths, the only sound being their tapping feet on the metal floors. Tails looked down at the baby he held, when he heard a small whimper. The baby's eyes were flicking open slightly. Fearful that the baby might wake up and start to cry, thus alerting Eggman of their escape, Tails hummed a lullaby and brought one of his tails up and curled it around the baby, who hugged onto it for warmth. That seemed to have done the trick, and the baby fell into a silent slumber again.

"Sonic and Knuckles are waiting for us outside the base, remember?" Ruby quietly reminded them.

"How much longer?" Tails asked, growing tired from carrying a heavy baby while running.

"There's an exit right near here," Shadow said.

But suddenly, Shadow skidded to a halt, and the other two nearly slammed into his back. Standing in the way of the exit, there had to be at least 50 robots standing in the way, and each one had their weapons ready and aimed at the animals.

"Oh ho ho!" a familiar laugh came over the loudspeaker. Ruby growled angrily and looked up at the ceiling. "Very clever you three, very clever indeed!" Eggman's voice proclaimed. "Who would've thought Shadow the hedgehog would decide to become noble! Lucky for me, I always have my exits barricaded," Eggman's voice sneered.

"Let us out! Don't make us fight you!" Ruby shouted angrily. "It'd be a real shame if you lost your old robots along with the ones you had plans for!"

Eggman laughed again, then replied. "Oh, don't worry my dear. I will let you out," he said, a hint of fake sympathy in his voice. "It's just that, my exits have a small toll fee; I'll let you out of my base, once you're roboticized!" he threatened, and the robots began to advance. Tails leaned against Ruby fearfully, and Shadow stood frozen in his spot in front of them. Ruby covered her baby's body with her arms in a protective manner, and her ears flattened against her head.

"Don't worry Tails, nothing's going to happen to us," she whispered to the scared kit, and she looped an arm around his waist into a tight side hug.

Eggman's laughter echoed through the ceiling as the robots continued to clank closer to them, and the twins began to wake from the loud sounds. The one in Tails' arms, the lighter sleeper, awoke first and began to wail. Shadow was paralyzed in thought for a moment, as the robots grew dangerously close to him, their weapons ready for fire.

Ruby and Tails were huddled together with their eyes clenched shut, the crying babies in the center to protect them, and Tails' tails wrapped around each other for safety. But suddenly, Ruby felt something grab her by the hand, and she opened her eyes. Shadow stood next to her, squeezing her hand in his tight, and in the other, he held a green chaos emerald.

"Shadow, what are you doing?" Ruby asked, catching Tails' attention as well.

"Take Tails' hand," Shadow commanded to her. Ruby obeyed without question, and suddenly, they both felt a tingling sensation in their limbs. As the robots circled around them, the three of them, and the two babies, all disappeared in a burst of green light.

* * *

Shadow, Ruby, Tails, and the twins all reappeared outside the base, standing knee-high in the freezing-cold snow. Ruby was hoping this wasn't just a dream, as she looked around at the white-covered trees and open woods.

"Th-That was chaos control!" Tails exclaimed, and Ruby looked back at the fox. "Wow! So that's what that feels like!" They both looked to Shadow, who looked a little less than ok. The dark hedgehog swayed on his feet, and he looked about ready to pass out. Tails quickly handed off the baby to Ruby, and he came up to Shadow and steadied him.

"You ok Shads?" he asked. Shadow nodded and put a hand to his head.

"Yeah," he said, no louder than a whisper. "The more people I take with me in chaos control, the more energy it takes out of me," he explained.

Ruby bounced the two babies in her arms gently, trying to calm the still upset babies. Now, the bitter cold wind was blowing against their naked and thin-furred bodies, and Ruby feared they'd get sick… or worse. "Don't worry. You've made it this far, I'm not about to lose you now," she whispered to the twins, nuzzling her nose into their cold faces. She then turned to the two guys.

"We have to get the twins out of the cold, or they might die," she told them. After reviving from his weak legs, Shadow nodded and walked up to Ruby.

"My chaos powers emit a small amount of warmth, leaving me with a higher body temperature. Give them to me, I can keep them warm longer than you can," he explained. Hesitantly, Ruby allowed Shadow to take one, then the other, and he held them against his chest fur. The babies immediately quieted their whimpering and nuzzled into his warm fur.

"Where do you think Sonic and Knuckles are?" Tails asked, shielding his eyes from the wind, as he looked out into the snow to try and look for the two of them.

"You don't think they didn't get out, do you?" Ruby asked nervously. Shadow walked forward a few steps.

"Knowing the blue faker, he and your husband have probably already made it out and are waiting for us," he said. "Our best bet is to walk towards town and hope to run into them there."

The sun beamed down on them as they walked through the deep snow, it being the only source of warmth in the chilly January afternoon. The three walked in the snow for a short while, before the babies began to whimper again. Shadow's body heat, just like everyone else's, was beginning to drop as well.

"Wh-where could the b-boys be?" Ruby murmured through chattering teeth. But just then, a familiar voice called out from the distance. They squinted to see who it was, and found there were two figures walking towards them. Ruby gasped as they came closer into their view, and a smile grew on her face.

"Knuckles!" she exclaimed happily, and she ran towards the two figures in the distance, tears forming in her eyes. Ruby and Knuckles embraced, and the tears in Ruby's eyes began to fall. "I was so worried!" she cried. "I feared you two didn't make it out alive!" Sonic chuckled next to them, and replied.

"It's sad to see you doubt me so much," he said with a smirk. Ruby wasn't even really listening though.

"Oh my God… Oh, thank God!" she cried. She took her head from her husband's chest and looked him in the eyes for a second before she realized. "Y-You're standing now!" she cried. Knuckles smiled at her and laughed slightly as he spoke.

"Yeah, the numbness went away a little while ago," he said. "It's still quite painful, but at least I can walk on my own." He then ran a hand through Ruby's hair and then kissed her.

Tails and Shadow caught up with the rest of them, and they slowed to a stop. Sonic came to Tails and hugged him, happy to see he was ok. All the while, Shadow watched everyone else as they hugged and welcomed each other's presence, his free hand gently stroking the two kits' backs. He could feel a wet layer of drool on his chest fur from the babies resting their faces in it, but at this point, what did it really matter?

Knuckles looked behind Ruby to Shadow, holding his two babies close to his chest. Ruby also looked, and then turned back to him and hugged him again.

"It's alright, they're both safe," she said quietly to him, and then she let go. She walked up to Shadow, who held out one of the infants to her. "Shadow saved both of their lives," Ruby continued, as she properly laid the baby on its back in her arms. Knuckles slowly walked up to Shadow, and the dark hedgehog handed Knuckles the other baby carefully. Everyone else crowded around the two of them to look at the

Knuckles was surprised at how heavy it was, and he looked down at the little guy and smiled. This was the first time he'd gotten the chance to see the babies.

He huffed ever-so-softly. "It's a boy," he said quietly.

The baby had peach fuzz-thin red fur, the same shade as his, and dark brown eyes like his mother. He had small ears on top of his rather large, spineless head, and there was a light brown spot of fur that circled around his left eye. The little infant looked up at his father with wide little eyes, and he made little squealing sounds through a mouthful of his own fingers.

"This one's also a boy," Ruby replied, looking up at her husband with a warm smile. The other baby looked just like the one Knuckles held.

"Identical twin boys, phew, what a handful!" Sonic commented with a big smile. "Let's hope they're more like their mother than their father," he said to Tails, who giggled.

"So, what do you want to name them?" Tails asked Ruby and Knuckles. Ruby looked to Knuckles, who gave a small nod, and Ruby looked back down at Tails.

"We were talking it over for awhile, and one of the boy names we liked was Jackson," she said, and she looked down at the baby she held. "So I think this one's going to be named Jackson," she told them, and she looked up at everyone with a smile.

"And as for the other one," Knuckles started, looking down at the little boy in his arms. He paused for a moment before he continued. "These two wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for Shadow," he said, looking up at the hedgehog still standing in front of him. "Therefore, I think we should name him after you, if that's ok," he said, giving Shadow a half-smile.

Shadow was completely surprised by this action; they wanted to name their baby after him? His heart began to pound quicker, and he found his lip quivering ever-so-slightly. Finally, Shadow took in a weary breath and spoke.

"I-I think that'd be just fine," he said, before he gave the slightest of smiles to the echidna.

"Jackson and Shadow… it has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" Tails said, looking to Sonic. The blue hedgehog nodded in reply and ruffled his bro's bangs.

"Have fun trying to tell those two apart now!" Sonic said to the mother and father with a small laugh.

* * *

"But suddenly, a loud crash was heard, and everyone looked up to find a tree falling, caused by a giant robot. There were a multitude of these giant robots coming in from all sides of the forest. We were walled in, robots on all corners, and they were coming closer and closer with every loud, clanking footstep. Your mother and I held you two tightly in our arms, ready to fight," Knuckles narrated, as he sat on the floor next to his two sons. "It looked like it there was no way out for us! Eggman had us trapped on all sides and we were all weak, cold, and tired!" he continued.

Both of the twins were now at the age of 5 years, and they listened intently to the amazing tale. Shadow Jr. gasped and brought his hands to his mouth in shock.

"What did you do daddy?" he exclaimed.

"Well, we were all huddled together, the robots all around us and closing in fast, when suddenly, Shadow the hedgehog brought out his chaos emerald and handed it to Sonic," Knuckles explained. "With the leftover amount of chaos energy Shadow had in his body, and the chaos emerald in Sonic's hand, it gave the two hedgehogs enough power to destroy every single one of the robots in just one shot!" he said. "After all of the robots were defeated, we headed home. And we lived happily ever after, the end!" Knuckles finished, poking Shadow in the nose. Shadow giggled happily and rocked back and forth on his butt.

As the two boys grew older, they became less identical, which was a good thing for the parents. For now at least, Jackson was the taller of the two, and he liked reading and science, while Shadow was a daddy's boy; he wanted to grow up to be a fighter just like Knuckles was. Both boys grew dreadlock spines, like both their parents had, but Shadow had long, shaggy bangs while Jackson kept his hair clean-cut.

Shadow stood up and came up to his dad and touched the purple pearl around his dad's neck. "So, all this happened cuz of this pearl?" he asked. Knuckles nodded.

"That's exactly how it all happened," he replied.

"Wow! Is that a real story daddy?" Shadow asked curiously.

"O'course it isn't!" Jackson commented, sitting up after he was lying down on the floor earlier. "This is a fake story daddy made up to tell before bedtime. That cou'n't happen, it's against the laws of nature, right mommy?" he asked, looking up to Ruby, who sat in the couch above the three boys and was listening to the story as she folded laundry.

"Don't be so sure Jack, not everything can be explained by science," Knuckles said as he lifted Shadow onto his lap and gestured Jackson to come on too. Jackson walked up to his dad and sat on his lap as well, then looked to his mom.

"You don' actually b'leve the story's real, right mommy?" Jackson asked his mom. Ruby looked down at her sons and smiled.

"Why yes, I do actually," she said, setting down a t-shirt and standing up.

"I believe it too!" Shadow said with a smile, looking proudly between his dad and his mom.

"That's good," Knuckles said, lifting the two boys up with him as he stood up, and he placed them on their feet. "…Because your mommy and I have some important news to tell you," he continued, as he looped an arm around his wife's waist and fingered at the pearl necklace around his neck.

"What is it? Is it a surprise?" Shadow and Jackson both asked eagerly, and they began to jump excitedly in their spots.

"I guess you could say it's a surprise," Ruby said, her eyes trailing to Knuckles before she nuzzled her face into his chest. "You tell them," she whispered to her husband, who nodded in agreement.

Knuckles knelt down by his sons, one hand still on the pearl necklace.

"What if I told you you're going to have a new baby sister?" Knuckles asked with a smile on his face, and he placed a hand on his belly, where it bulged ever-so-slightly outward from the sweatshirt he wore.

* * *

**Well, that's the end! I hope you liked it, and didn't find it to weird or anything like that! :) **

**I might, and only might make a sequel to this, if I can find the time or the muse. And if I don't, then sorry! Bye now!**


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